Finland Stuns Back-to-Back Reigning Champions US in U20 World Championship Quarter-Finals.

Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's 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 kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand their team a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it really saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.