Finland Stuns Back-to-Back Reigning Title Holders the United States in U20 World Championship Quarterfinal Round.

Arttu Välilä netted the winner 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 world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand their team a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

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

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its place next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.