Finland Shocks Back-to-Back Defending Champions the United States in World Junior Quarter-Finals.

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

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head against the Swiss and missing two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five 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 Stats

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it kind of 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 helpers to aid the Swedes remain perfect in five games.

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

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team won the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.