🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal 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 night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

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

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third to give Finland a two to one lead. He leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

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

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It has been an privilege to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it really kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team won the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its spot for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.