🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling 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 University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to hand their team a two to one lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

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

"It was an privilege to lead this team," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it really kills their morale."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its place next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.