Hemming scores twice as Finland pummels Latvia 8-0 in World Junior Championship

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Emil Hemming scored twice as Finland dominated Latvia 8-0 in preliminary-round play at the World Junior Championship on Sunday.

Finland struck early and never relented, holding Latvia to just four shots on goal while scoring three times in the opening period to take control.

Hemming opened the scoring at 4:11 of the first period, finishing a pass from Matias Vanhanen to put the Finns ahead. Finland doubled the lead less than two minutes later when Jasper Kuhta scored his first goal of the tournament, slipping a shot through the legs of Mikus Vecvanags to make it 2-0.

Max Westergard added another late in the period as Finland carried a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

The Finns continued to pull away in the second period. Hemming scored again on a two-man advantage after consecutive Latvian penalties, and Joona Saarelainen followed later in the period to extend the lead to five.

Finland added three more goals in the third period. Roope Vesterinen scored early, Heikki Ruohonen followed midway through the period and Lasse Boelius capped the scoring with 9:29 remaining.

Petteri Rimpinen stopped all four shots he faced to earn the shutout for Finland, which finished with a 27-4 edge in shots. Vecvanags made 22 saves for Latvia despite facing steady pressure throughout.

Finland continues preliminary play against Czechia on Monday. Latvia faces Denmark on Tuesday.