Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.
"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."
In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat Latvia 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.
The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it 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 found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to give their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.
The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out two games.
"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our mistakes."
His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.
Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.
The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.
"It was an honor to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."
In the second match in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.
C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.
"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really saps their morale."
In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.
The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its spot next year in the top division. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.
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