The Finnish Team Upsets Two-Time Defending Title Holders the United States in World Junior Quarterfinal Round.
Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.
"Got to give full credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain Aron 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 believe we truly deserved it this evening."
In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.
Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime
Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.
L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.
Key Performances and Reactions
The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.
"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our mistakes."
His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.
Hutson tallied on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.
Between the Pipes Summary
- Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
- Kempf recorded 21 saves.
The Americans fell in their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.
"It was an honor to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. 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, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.
"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really kills their morale."
In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.
In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.
Consolation Match Outcome
The German team won the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.
