The Finnish Team Upsets Back-to-Back Reigning Title Holders the United States 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 world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third period to give Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

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

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their final two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

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

Consolation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.