Finland Stuns Two-Time Reigning Champions the United States in U20 World Championship Quarterfinal Round.

Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to hand their team a two to one lead. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

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

Goaltending Stats

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

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this group," stated the team's coach. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

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

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

Germany won the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.