🔗 Share this article

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

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give Finland a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in 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, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

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

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

"It has been an honor to lead this team," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

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

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.

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

Consolation Match Result

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.