World Junior Hockey Championships 2016 Results: Semifinal Scores and Reaction

After the top seeds held strong in quarterfinals action, Monday's semifinals at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships promised a battle of the elite.

Undefeated Sweden and Finland went head-to-head in early action, while the United States and Russia were on the slate later in the day. The four victors scored a combined 23 goals in their quarterfinals matchups, so it was going to be up to the goaltenders to keep things at bay.

A number of potential top picks were also in action, making these semis a good showcase for NHL scouts.

With that in mind, here is a look at how the two semifinal matchups played out, along with a recap of each game. 

Finland 2, Sweden 1

Ten minutes in, Sweden got on the board first and appeared ready to rampage through once again to the finals. Fifty minutes later, the Swedes were left picking up the pieces of a disappointing loss.

Roope Hintz and Antti Kalapudas each scored second-period goals, and Kaapo Kahkonen stopped 21 shots, as Finland held on for a 2-1 victory over Sweden to advance. 

Mikko Rantanen and Kasperi Kapanen were the catalysts for both Finland goals, each picking up a pair of assists. Finland was the aggressor for most of the game, peppering Linus Soderstrom for 28 shots on goal. He managed to record 26 saves, but a fateful two-minute stretch in the second period sealed Sweden's fate.

Hintz netted his goal off of a Rantanen assist at the 11-minute, eight-second mark, and then, an ill-timed penalty paved the way for Kalapudas to score the go-ahead goal at 13:04. Finland then held its lead on the back of Kahkonen, who made a number of key stops in the third period. Mark Masters of TSN held his performance in high praise:

Finland had come into the game having barely scraped its way past Canada in the quarters. Sweden had taken its first five games by a combined 20 goals and had only allowed five scores total in the entire tournament. While Finland's 27 goals through five games were a tournament high, winning such a low-scoring game comes as a bit of a surprise.

Sweden, meanwhile, will try to pick up the pieces in the bronze-medal game. It appeared as if the Swedes would cruise through and perhaps set up another matchup with the United States for the championship. Instead, their inability to score goals when it mattered most came back to haunt them.  

Russia 2, United States 1

Markku Ulander/Associated Press

The day's second game played out eerily like the first. Boosted by a Christian Dvorak goal nine minutes into the game, the United States took control and seemed ready to make a finals run. And for the second straight game, fans watched on as a pair of second-period goals in quick succession changed the outcome in an instant.

Pavel Kraskovski and Yegor Korshkov each scored unassisted goals late in the second period, leading Russia to a 2-1 victory over the United States. The Russians will move on to play Finland. The went head-to-head in group play, with Russia earning a 6-4 victory.

This Russian team was far more dependent on goalie Ilya Samsonov, who stopped 26 of the United States' 27 shots in the win. His lone mistake was really only a strong play from Dvorak, as he scored on a pass from Sonny Milano. 

After more than a period of the United States holding the lead, Kraskovski got Russia on the board by finishing off a rebound near the net. Less than three minutes later, it was Korshkov's turn, as he got an attempt past Alex Nedeljkovic's foot for the go-ahead goal. Nedeljkovic was tasked with stopping 33 shots on goal against the aggressive Russians, who were undefeated (with one overtime win) during group play.

Given the way their first meeting went, Russia should head into the finals as a slight favorite. However, the play of Kahkonen in net may have changed things for Finland. The United States and Sweden will rematch their 1-0 group play game for the bronze medal.