Under 18-year-old boys’ ice hockey championship in Vantaa

Under 18-year-old boys' ice hockey championship games are also played in Vantaa at the turn of April-May. Pikkuleijonat (Finnish men's national under-18 team) have been allotted into the preliminary round that will be played in Espoo, but in Vantaa you can follow the games played by the teams of, among others, Sweden, Canada, and Czech, which are played at Tikkurila Areena in Vantaa.

-It is an honor to have this high-level tournament here in Vantaa. We can witness how new ice-hockey stars are born. This year the City of Vantaa is also celebrating its 50th anniversary, which is sure to further increase the atmosphere of a great international sports event. According to the multicultural city's jubilee-year motto, "Everybody can feel at home in Vantaa." I wish you warmly welcome to enjoy these sports experiences, enthuses Veli-Matti Kallislahti, sports director of the City of Vantaa.

-We expect the world junior championship to become of the most interesting events taking place in the spring. We hope that, especially, families with children and the young come and enjoy this highly enjoyable ice hockey tournament, says Petteri Hietanen, secretary general of the world championship.

The teams participating in the preliminary round, which takes place on April 25 -30, have been divided into two five-team qualification groups. Each team plays four games in the preliminary round.

Pikkuleijonat will play in the preliminary round's qualification group A in Metro Areena, in Espoo. Other players from the same qualification group come from Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, and the United States of America.

The four best teams of the preliminary round's qualification groups will play in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 2. Two of the quarterfinals will take place in Vantaa and two in Espoo.

-We are very happy about our cooperation with the City of Vantaa. The city's location is excellent as far as arranging an international event is concerned: the ice rink, airport, and several hotels are easily accessible to the teams and guests, Hietanen praises.

According to Hietanen, Tikkurila ice rink is a superb arena, and in his opinion, the preliminary qualification group in Vantaa can be estimated to be of slightly higher quality than the one taking place in Espoo.

-Spectators in Vantaa will see really top-level games and numerous talented players in each team. The championship as a whole is very functional. The championship places are of the right sizes from the perspective of the event itself, and they are, moreover, located close to one another. Furthermore, moving between the arenas and hotels is easy, and the airport is close, too. If the teams desire something else besides ice hockey to do, there is plenty on offer, Hietanen says.

As part of the championship organization and the official partners' corporate responsibility work, the cities where the games are held receive a substantial number of charitable tickets for the event. The charitable tickets enable the game experience to, among others, schoolchildren and other interest groups who might not otherwise be able to follow the games on the spot.

-This is a good way to make the championship part of the residents' everyday life, and, therefore, it is great that the cities in question actively participate in charitable work, Hietanen thanks.
The public can buy the tickets on Lippu.fi's channels. Sales have been busy, especially as regards some games played by the Finnish team and the championship final, even though there is still plenty of time before the games begin.

If Finland progresses to the quarterfinals, it will play in the game that begins in Espoo at 17:00. On the same day, Vantaa is home to a qualification match where the teams placed last in the preliminary round face each other.

The semifinals will take place on Saturday, May 4, whereas the championship final will take place on Sunday, May 5, in Espoo.