🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great 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 tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give Finland a 2-1 lead. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

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

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," stated the American bench boss. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really kills their confidence."

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

Germany won the relegation game, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany keep its spot for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.