The Finnish Team Upsets Back-to-Back Defending Champions US in U20 World Championship Quarter-Finals.

Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland 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 US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder 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 give their team a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final 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 privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes remain undefeated in five games.

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

Relegation Game Result

The German team won the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.