🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to give their team a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

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

"It was an privilege to coach this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side remain perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.