Finland face Swiss in ice hockey world final after victory over Canada

Finland will face hosts Switzerland in the men's ice hockey world championship final in Zurich on Sunday evening.

The Finnish team, nicknamed Leijonat or the Lions, clinched their place in the gold medal decider with a tense but thrilling 4-2 win over Canada in Saturday's semi-final.

The Lions took an early lead in the first period through Patrik Puistola, but Canada hit back twice to lead 2-1 at the break.

The second period was all Finland however, with goals from captain Aleksander Barkov, Konsta Helenius and Aatu Räty giving the Lions an unassailable 4-2 lead.

"We played a great game, didn't give them much," Anton Lundell told reporters afterwards. "We came here to win, and we still have some work left to do. We know the Swiss team and know what to expect."

Finland lost 4-2 to Switzerland in the group stages of the tournament.

Sunday's face-off against the Swiss will make the 14th time Finland have played in the gold medal match since the championship format was reshuffled in 1992 - winning four and losing nine of those encounters.

The final begins at 9:20pm Finnish time.