United States falls to Finland in world junior hockey tournament

“I think a goal like that kind of turns the momentum, and we had some chances,” Ziemer said. “Ultimately, I don’t think we had our best game.”

The United States also got goals from Carey Terrance and Cole Hutson.

The U.S. had won the past three games against Finland at World Juniors, with Finland last winning 1-0 in 2020’s quarterfinal round.

“We had meetings with the players and then also coaches and we talked about how we’re not at the 100 percent level,” said Finland captain Aron Kiviharju, a draft pick of the Wild. “We got to be consistent, playing offense, playing defense, and I think we did that pretty well tonight.”

Next up for the United States is intense rival Canada (1-0-0-1 before a game Sunday night against Germany) on Tuesday in the final game of group play. The quarterfinals begin Thursday.

“Everyone’s going to be really frustrated within themselves and with the outcome today,” U.S. captain Ryan Leonard said. “Ultimately, we’re playing for that first-place spot against Canada. It’s not out of the picture yet, but we all got to be ready to go.”