Lehkonen overtime hero sending Finland to Olympic semi-final

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Feb 18, 2026; Milan, Italy; Artturi Lehkonen of Finland celebrates scoring their third goal in overtime to win the match against Switzerland in a men's ice hockey quarterfinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Rho Ice Hockey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Anyone who says clutch doesn’t exist isn’t familiar with Artturi Lehkonen. All the Finnish forward does is score big goals and today was no exception as he struck the back of the net in overtime to send Finland to the semi-finals at the Olympics in a 3-2 win over Switzerland.

HOCKEY M –L'ancien du Canadien Artturi Lehkonen complète la remontée de la Finlande et propulse son équipe en demi-finales@LNH_FR#MilanoCortina2026#rcsports#hockey#jeuxolympiquespic.twitter.com/iCCfkvRqhr

— Radio-Canada Sports (@RC_Sports) February 18, 2026

It wasn’t looking so hot for Finland as they were losing the majority of the contest to underdog Switzerland after Damian Riat and Nino Niederreiter scored in the first period to put the Swiss up comfortably 2-0. There was no scoring in the second period and it was all but over for Finland as they watched the minutes tick away in the third frame.

With just over six minutes remaining Finland got on the board from Sebastian Aho and then in the final minute Finland found the equalizer at Miro Heiskanen found the back of the net. The overtime hero Artturi Lehkonen saved his best for last and potted the winning goal a few minutes into the extra period. It was his second goal and fifth point, in which has already been a successful Olympics for him.

More from Lehkonen on controlling OT nerves:

"We were talking about it during the break, that we just wanted to keep grinding, keep plugging away. We knew that chances would come and we’d bury one and grind out that victory."#GoAvsGo | @MileHighHockey | #Olympics2026

— Adrian Hernandez (@AdoHernandez27) February 18, 2026

Now Finland faces a tough task against Canada in the semi-final but they still have a chance to defend their gold medal at this juncture. Puck drop is at 8:40 a.m. MT on Friday, February 20th.

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