US vs. Finland: How to watch junior world hockey championship game for FREE

The United States will play Finland in the final of the World Junior Hockey Championship on Sunday evening.

It will start at 7:30 p.m. ET at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, and will be a repeat of their game Dec. 29 in group play when Tuomas Uronen (Vegas Golden Knights) scored in overtime for a 5-4 Finland victory.

Czechia will play Sweden in the bronze-medal game at 3:30 p.m.

You can watch both games on the NHL Network or live steam them on ESPN+, fubo TV (add-on, FREE trial), Sling TV (add-on, discount) and DirecTV Stream (add-on, FREE trial and discount).

Cole Eiserman broke a second-period tie and the defending champion United States beat Czechia 4-1 on Saturday night to advance to the world junior hockey championship game.

Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault each had a goal and an assist for the Americans. Minnesota’s Oliver Moore also scored, and Michigan State’s Trey Augustine made 26 saves.

The Americans are seeking their seventh title and first back-to-back championships.

“It would mean everything,” said Perreault, who also played last season. “We definitely have the team to do it. We’ll be ready to go.”

In the first semifinal, Benjamin Rautiainen scored on a power play at 9:22 of overtime to lift Finland to a 4-3 victory over Sweden.

Consolation game

• WHO: Sweden vs. Czechia
• WHEN: 3:30 P.M .
• TV: NHL Network, or live stream on ESPN+, fubo TV (add-on, FREE trial), Sling TV (add-on, discount) and DirecTV Stream (add-on, FREE trial and discount)

Championship,

• WHO: U.S. vs. Finland
• WHEN: 7:30 p.m.
• TV: NHL Network, or live stream on ESPN+, fubo TV (add-on, FREE trial), Sling TV (add-on, discount) and DirecTV Stream (add-on, FREE trial and discount)

In Finland’s 5-4 win over the U.S. on Dec. 29, goalie Petteri Rimpinen (2025 draft eligible) made 30 saves. The player nicknamed “Showtime” leads the tournament with a .939 save percentage while playing every minute of all six games.

“He’s the main reason that we’re here,” defenseman Emil Pieniniemi (Pittsburgh Penguins) said. “Just a hell of a game, every game.”

Finland coach Lauri Mikkola said he isn’t worried about Rimpinen being tired with Sunday being his seventh game in 11 days, including playing back-to-back days for the second time.

“He has been playing in the Finnish league [with K-Espoo] a lot, and this is how often we’re playing there,” Mikkola said, according to nhl.com. “So it’s normal for him. That’s no problem for Showtime.”

For the U.S., Perreault (three goals, six assists) is part of a top line, along with Washington Capitals prospect Ryan Leonard (five goals, three assists) and James Hagens (four goals, four assists), a candidate to be the No. 1 pick of the 2025 NHL Draft, that has been one of the most dynamic in the tournament.

Puck management will be key against a Finland team that scored just 19 goals but is opportunistic and is led by Konsta Helenius (Buffalo Sabres) with seven assists, including four in the 4-3 overtime win against Sweden on Saturday, and Jesse Kiiskinen (Detroit Red Wings) who has six points (five goals, one assist) in six games.

“We know they’re obviously a good team, can score pretty quick in transition,” Perreault said. “I think just cleaning up those turnovers that we had in puck management and just play our game, and we should be in a good place.”