🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and missing two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details 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 lead on a power play with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side remain perfect in five games.

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

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its place next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.