🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand their team a two to one lead. He leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading 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 blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus the Swiss and missing 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 Grade-A chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their final two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this group," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

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

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

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

Consolation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.