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HELSINKI (AP) — Finland has changed its coach at the world junior hockey championship after Jukka Rautakorpi failed to take the team into the quarterfinals in Canada.
The Nordic country's under-20 team is bottom of Group A and will be relegated. The team will plays its final game Saturday against Switzerland in Toronto.
The Finnish Ice Hockey Association said Jussi Ahokas, the national under-18 coach, has taken over with immediate effect.
Rautakorpi had coached the team since the beginning of the season, with Finland losing its first three preliminary-round games.
The International Ice Hockey Federation said it will be the first time that a defending world junior champion will have to play in the relegation round.
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