Finland Shocks Back-to-Back Defending Title Holders the United States in World Junior Quarterfinal Round.

Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give their team a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

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

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.