The Lions to a routine victory over the World Championship midget - Strong performance from Jesse Puljujärvi!

The Lions continue with a clean game in the World Championships.

Germany fell on Friday and now it was Hungary’s turn to be left behind by Finland.

The match was preceded by bad news, as Teuvo Teräväinen, who was injured in Friday’s match, had to leave the tournament.

Hungary did not give in easily, even though the material difference between the teams is enormous. The first period went reasonably evenly – and without goals.

Eventually, the Lions took the lead at the start of the second period. Ville Heinola’s shot from the blue line went straight into the net, thanks to Jesse Puljujärvi and Sakari Manninen’s two-layer screen.

Hungary nearly equalized immediately after, but Joonas Korpisalo made an excellent double save.

It didn’t take long for the Lions to go up 2-0 with Puljujärvi, who was elevated to the first line in place of Teräväinen, scoring with a backhand shot. The assist on the goal was made by Aleksander Barkov.

While Barkov showcased his skills on the 2-0 goal, Hungary finished the most beautiful goal of the match. Istvan Terbocs and Bence Horvath assisted, and Balazs Sebok scored to make it 1-2.

The Lions’ victory was never really in danger, even though Hungary briefly got within a goal. About four minutes before the end of the second period, Finland returned to a two-goal lead when Eemil Erholtz created a screen and Janne Kuokkanen shot to make it 3-1. Erholtz got a stamp in his tournament pass after Teräväinen dropped out.

In the third period, the Lions further embellished the score. Finland got a four-minute power play and it didn’t take many seconds to expire before Puljujärvi scored his second goal of the match and his fifth point of the tournament.

The 4-1 score keeps the Lions in strong form in the World Championships. Next up is the United States on Monday at 17:20.