Finland Stuns Back-to-Back Defending Champions US in U20 World Championship Quarterfinal Round.

Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that payback from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A chances came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

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

"It has been an honor to coach this group," said the team's coach. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.