Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.
"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional individuals 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 semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.
Thrilling 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 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.
L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand Finland a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. 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 United States after being struck in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.
"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances came from our errors."
His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.
Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.
Goaltending Summary
- Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
- Kempf made 21 saves.
The Americans fell in their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.
"It was an honor to lead this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."
Other Playoff Results
In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.
Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.
"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."
In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.
Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.
Consolation Game Outcome
The German team won the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.
