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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

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

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled 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 quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it really saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its spot next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.