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The 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship Final was played at Malmö Arena in Malmö, Sweden, on 5 January 2014 between Sweden and Finland. The game determined the winners of the 2014 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, with Finland defeating Sweden in overtime 3–2.
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Finland won their first gold medal since 1998, as well as their third gold medal in total. It was also their first medal in the tournament since 2006. Sweden earned their second consecutive silver medal, their ninth silver medal in total, as well as their third consecutive medal in the tournament.
12,023 spectators attended the game, setting a new record for a single IIHF World Junior Championship game in Europe.
Background
This was Sweden's third consecutive final, their fifth final since 2008, as well as their seventh in total (counting years with official gold medal games). Sweden had previously won two gold medals, their first in 1981 by winning the championship round, and their second in 2012 by defeating Russia in the final 1–0. Sweden went undefeated before the final, winning all six games in regulation time.
This was Finland's third final in tournament history, as well as their first medal in the tournament since 2006. They played their previous final in 2001 against the Czech Republic, in which Finland lost 2–1. Finland had previously won two gold medals, their first in 1987, and their second in 1998 by defeating Russia in the final 2–1. Finland lost two games in the regulation round, one against Sweden in regulation time and one against Switzerland in a shootout. In the previous tournament, Finland failed to reach the playoffs and ended up in the relegation round.
This was the first final between the two teams. Sweden defeated Finland in the regulation round 4–2. Since 2006, Sweden had won five of the six prior meetings between the two teams. Finland's win came in 2006, when they defeated the Swedes 1–0 in overtime in the quarterfinal. The most recent meeting in the playoffs occurred in 2012, when Sweden defeated Finland 3–2 in a shootout in the semifinal. The rivalry between the two highly ranked neighboring Nordic countries has had a long-going competitive tradition in ice hockey, especially on the senior side.
Attendance
12,023 spectators attended the game, setting a new record for a single IIHF World Junior Championship game in Europe. The broadcast of the game in Sweden, at SVT2 and SVT Play, averaged 1,564,000 viewers, breaking the previous World Junior record in Sweden of 995,000 viewers for the broadcast of Sweden's final against Canada in the 2008 tournament. The Swedish broadcast peaked at 1,953,000 viewers. The Finnish broadcast averaged about 1 million viewers and peaked at 1.3 million.
Reactions
On 7 January 2014, fans gathered in downtown Helsinki to celebrate Finland's gold medal. The police estimated that about 3,000 people were present.