Sebastian Aho with Team Finland against Italy (Via Getty Images)
Sebastian Aho wanted to score badly, and it showed. The Carolina Hurricanes center put one past Damian Clara in the first period and never stopped attacking in Finland’s historic 11-0 demolition of Italy on Saturday.
The attack was relentless, and the hosts never stood a chance.Aho finished with two goals on seven shots, displaying quick hands and slick playmaking throughout the dominant performance. He showed excellent chemistry alongside Artturi Lehkonen and Teuvo Teravainen while helping Finland make history at Santagiulia Arena.
Finland creates history and records the biggest Olympic victory that had NHL players
The victory marked the first time in Olympic hockey with NHL players that a team scored 10 or more goals in a single game.
Joel Armia netted the historic 10th goal before Joel Kiviranta capped the scoring to complete the rout.Aho opened the scoring at 6:49 of the first period, banging home a pass from Mikko Rantanen to give Finland an early lead. He continued attacking relentlessly throughout the game before adding his second goal to make it 9-0 in the third period.The 27-year-old center seemed to have fun out there, skating with energy and purpose in a game that was never close.
Finland led 3-0 after the first period and 6-0 after two periods before exploding for five goals in the final frame.Kaapo Kakko and Mikael Granlund also scored twice for Finland in the blowout. Kiviranta added two goals while Lehkonen, Armia, and Miro Heiskanen contributed one apiece. Fourteen players recorded at least one point in the offensive barrage.Despite the dominant victory, Finland finished second in Group B behind Slovakia.
All three contenders ended with identical 2-0-1-0 records, but Slovakia won the group on goal differential following its 5-3 loss to Sweden earlier Saturday.The tiebreaker sends Sweden to the qualification round on Tuesday despite beating Slovakia. Finland can still earn the wild card into the quarterfinals as the No. 4 seed, and the 11-goal margin could prove crucial since goal differential serves as a tiebreaker.Italy replaced Clara with Davide Fadani in goal during the game. Clara had been impressive in Italy’s opening loss to Sweden, but endured a difficult afternoon Saturday. Fadani allowed three goals on four shots in relief.Finland now faces an anxious wait to determine its playoff seeding. Slovakia automatically advances to the quarterfinals on Wednesday after winning Group B. The qualification playoffs begin Tuesday, February 17, followed by quarterfinals on Wednesday.
