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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden beat the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third to give their team a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and missing two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder 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 starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes stay perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its place for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.