🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

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

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

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

Goaltending Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to lead this team," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, defeating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its spot next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.