🔗 Share this article

Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this group," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Result

The German team won the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.