The bronze medal game of the Under-18 Girls’ Ice Hockey World Cup between Canada and Finland had to be stopped for several minutes due to a serious-looking injury at the end of the second period.
Girl lions Emmi Loponen was injured in the under-18 girls World Championships.
Canada’s Charlotte Pieckenhagen was tackled by Suomen’s Emmi Lopo near the wing. Loponen, 14, was left lying motionless on the ice and was treated for several minutes before being carried off the rink on a stretcher.
Canada’s Pieckenhagen received a two-minute penalty for his tackle. Canada scored a 7-0 goal underpowered.
On the website of the ice hockey association, it is reported on Sunday that forward Loponen survived the knock he received in the bronze medal game with a start.
– Emmi has already returned to the hall, and he is currently in the booth with the rest of the team packing his things and leaving for the hotel, the doctor of the Finnish team Kerttu Toivo states.
The girl lions lost the WC bronze match to Canada with goals 1–8 and finished fourth for the second time in a row. In the final Emma Ecocreature scored Finland’s only goal. Ekoluoma is one of the strongest players in the tournament with 8+3=11 points.
– It was a big disappointment for everyone after the US semi-final loss, when we got so close to the dream. We had to do a lot of jumping for this game. Canada has a really strong age group, even though they played for bronze now. The opponent showed today how tough it was. The level difference was what was visible on the scoreboard. For us, this (fourth place) was the maximum performance of this team, summed up the head coach Mira Kuisma.
Canada – Finland 8–1 (3-0.4-0.1-1)
04.54 1-0 Alexander
12.19 2-0 Stonehouse
18.22 3-0 Stonehouse
21.45 4-0 Kraemer
22.51 5-0 Cimoroni
31.17 6-0 Kraemer yv
38.15 7-0 Primerano av
50.56 8-0 Primerano
51.44 8-1 Eco creature (Byskata, Andersson)
Goalkeeper saves:
Rhyah Stewart CAN 4+ 3+ 4= 11
Kerttu Kuja-Halkola FIN 18+17 + 9= 44
Bad news season
Ice hockey has been widely in the headlines this season due to serious incidents. American ice hockey player who also played in the NHL Adam Johnson died in October in Britain when he got a skate cut on his neck in a match.
Long-time member of the core players of the Finnish women’s national team Sanni Hakala was paralyzed in November in a match in the Swedish premier league when he slid headfirst into the goal post. Hakala said on social media that she was paralyzed from the chest down.
At 18:52, the final result of the bronze medal game was added to the story and the fact that the Finnish team does not comment on the situation of the injured player at this stage. At 7:42 p.m., head coach Mira Kuisma’s comments were added. At 21:57, it was added to the story and title that Loponen survived the situation with a start.