🔗 Share this article

Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

In the second match in the host city, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its spot next year in the top division. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.