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MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 21: Erik Haula #56 of Team Finland, Artturi Lehkonen #62 of Team Finland and Mikael Granlund #64 of Team Finland wear their medals after the Men's Bronze Medal match between Slovakia and Finland on day fifteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 21, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It wasn’t the medal they hoped for but team Finland defended their 2022 gold medal with a bronze medal finish in a 6-1 defeat of Slovakia at the 2026 Winter Olympics. A duo of Colorado Avalanche forwards Artturi Lehkonen and Joel Kiviranta are bringing home the hardware.
It was a quick start to the game for Finland when Sebastian Aho put the Finns on the board early in the first period and naturally Lehkonen earned the primary assist. They added to their lead in the second frame on a goal from Erik Haula but the game got tighter when Tomas Tatar cut the lead by the end of the period with Slovakia’s first score.
The Finns had renewed purpose in the third period and added four goals in the last 20 minutes to arrive at the 6-1-final score, earning the bronze medal. Quite an accomplishment Finland will be proud of, which was an even tougher task when Mikko Rantanen was ruled out with a lower-body injury before the game began.
It was a successful tournament for both Finnish Avalanche players, too. Joel Kiviranta played in five games and scored two goals. Artturi Lehkonen played in six games scoring two goals and four assists including the overtime winner in the quarterfinals against Switzerland. Hopefully they can bring back this momentum to Colorado rejoining their other Olympian teammates.
Up next is the gold medal showdown between USA and Canada concluding the men’s ice hockey tournament bright and early at 6 a.m. MT on Sunday morning.
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