Johnson's OT winner leads Canada to gold-medal triumph over Finland

Canada hung on to claim gold at the 2022 World Junior Hockey Championship, downing Finland 3-2 in the final on Saturday after Kent Johnson's overtime winner.

The Canadians nearly collapsed after blowing a two-goal lead but redeemed themselves in three-on-three OT.

Finland was millimeters away from winning in the extra frame, but Canadian captain Mason McTavish heroically scooped the puck off the goal line. Johnson ended things shortly thereafter, dangling and relentlessly pursuing his own rebound to win it.

Canada jumped out to an early two-goal lead. First, Joshua Roy buried McTavish's rebound to open the scoring midway through the opening frame. Then William Dufour toe dragged around a defender and sniped blocker side 41 seconds into the second period.

The Canadians held that lead through the second intermission, but the Finns came out flying in the final frame. Aleksi Heimosalmi cut the lead in half early in the third period before Joakim Kemell blasted home Topi Niemela's feed to tie things up.

Finland pushed hard late to make it a very even game, but the Canadians ended up outshooting the Finns 33-31.

Dylan Garand was stellar once again in net for Canada with 29 saves. McTavish finished with two assists, while Logan Stankoven and Olen Zellweger each added a helper.

Despite the scare in the final, it was a dominant tournament for the Canadians, who finished a perfect 7-0-0 and outscored their opponents by an astounding 41-14. This victory marks Canada's 19th gold medal in the tournament's history - by far the most of any nation.

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