BRATISLAVA, May 11 -- Finland's 18-year-old rising star Kaapo Kakko lead his teammates to a second victory in the Ice Hockey World Championship, scoring a hat trick to seal the 4-2 win over host Slovakia in Group A on Saturday.
Erik Cernak's opening goal for Slovakia in the first period was quickly answered by two from the opponents - Petteri Lindbohm's chip in and Kaapo Kakko's hard shot from the high slot.
The home team tied the game late in the second thanks to Martin Marincin's backhander from behind the goal, but Kakko's tremendous deke between the legs of a defender followed by a shot that went in between the legs of the goaltender put the Finns back in the lead. He then sealed the 4-2 win with an empty netter.
Finland is leading the tournament in scoring with 5 goals.
Slovakia's next Group A game will be against Canada on Monday, and Finland will face the United States.