🔗 Share this article

Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to hand Finland a two to one lead. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer 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.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The Americans lost their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

In the second match in the host city, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," B. Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it really saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Outcome

The German team won the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its place next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.