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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening 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, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to give Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The Americans lost their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

The German team won the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its place next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.