🔗 Share this article

Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to give Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

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

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

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really saps their morale."

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Result

Germany won the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.