Frondell Wins It in the Shootout as Sweden Slips Past Finland to Reach Gold Medal Game Sweden is headed back to the World Junior Championship final.

Anton Frondell scored the deciding goal in the shootout as Sweden edged Finland 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul, sending the Juniorkronorna into Monday’s gold medal game against the winner of the Canada-Czechia semifinal.

For Sweden, it was the cleanest kind of revenge. One year after falling 4-3 in overtime to Finland in the 2025 semifinals, the Swedes found a way to survive another tight rivalry game, this time with the final punch coming after overtime.

The game opened with a familiar Sweden script: score fast, settle in, and make the opponent chase.

Just 36 seconds after puck drop, Linus Eriksson finished a rush chance to put Sweden up 1-0, continuing Sweden’s knack in this tournament for jumping on the scoreboard early.

Finland steadied itself as the period wore on and tied the game at 16:26 when Atte Joki snapped a shot home off a setup that opened space through the middle. After twenty minutes, it was 1-1, and the game had the tense, swingy feel these matchups usually deliver.

Sweden regained the lead early in the second. On a delayed penalty with an extra attacker on the ice, Ivar Stenberg buried a look from the middle at 1:20 to make it 2-1.

Finland responded almost immediately.

Fifty seconds later, Jasper Kuhta tied it 2-2 on a chaotic net-front sequence where the puck found its way through traffic. No style points, just a goal, and the Finns were right back in the game.

The teams kept trading momentum, but Sweden found the next lead. At 14:07, Eddie Genborg made it 3-2 after tracking down his own rebound behind the goal line and tossing the puck back toward the crease, where it caromed across the line in a sequence that had just enough weirdness to fit the day.

Finland pressed late in the period and came close to leveling it, including a near-miss off the crossbar, but Sweden carried the 3-2 advantage into the third.

Finland did what it has done all tournament: keep coming.

In the third, the pace was choppy at times with special teams getting involved, and Sweden had chances to stretch the lead but could not cash in. Finland finally pulled even at 14:01 when Joona Saarelainen powered to the net and finished to make it 3-3.

Overtime brought chances and chaos, but no finish. Sweden generated multiple breakaways, Finland threatened on the power play late, and the game stayed locked.

The shootout belonged to Sweden, with Frondell scoring the winner to send the Swedes into the final.

In net, Love Harenstam delivered a composed performance for Sweden in a high-pressure rivalry game, while Petteri Rimpinen kept Finland alive through long stretches where Sweden looked ready to break it open.

Sweden now gets a shot at its third gold medal in tournament history, with Monday’s final set in St. Paul. Finland, meanwhile, sees its wait for another gold continue and will turn its attention to the bronze medal game.