🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland 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 Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to give their team a two to one lead. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

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

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

The German team won the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.