The Finnish Team Stuns Two-Time Defending Title Holders the United States in World Junior Quarter-Finals.

Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, 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 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to hand their team a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the head against the Swiss and missing two games.

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

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

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

"It has been an honor to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in the host city, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.