🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to give Finland a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes remain perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.