🔗 Share this article

Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal 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 night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their morale."

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its place next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.