🔗 Share this article

Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand Finland a two to one lead. He leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

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

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday 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. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

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

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

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its spot next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.