TRINEC, Czech Republic — Patrik Puistola recorded two goals and an assist in Finland’s 7-1 rout over Kazakhstan. Puistola, a third-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2019, leads the tournament with four goals and seven points through three games.
Kristian Tanus and Matias Maccelli each added a goal and an assist for Finland (2-0-1-0).
Kari Piiroinen made 21 saves in victory, while Roman Kalmykov turned aside 27-of-34 shots for Kazakhstan (0-0-0-3).
Andrei Buyalskiy was the Kazakhs lone goal scorer.
The Finns have now won all eight world junior games they’ve ever played against Kazakhstan. With this latest loss, the Kazakhs will play in the relegation round for the second straight year.
Next: Finland vs. Switzerland on Tuesday, Kazakhstan vs. Sweden on Monday
[relatedlinks]