🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

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

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to give their team a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

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

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to lead this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay perfect in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.