Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad 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.
"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."
In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.
Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.
Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.
The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing the next two contests.
"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."
His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.
Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.
The Americans fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.
"It was an honor to lead this group," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game today and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."
In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.
Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.
"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really kills their confidence."
In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay undefeated in five games.
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.
Germany won the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to ensure his nation keep its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.
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