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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand their team a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck 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 opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

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 first three.

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

Additional Playoff Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its place for the following season in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.