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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 American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to hand Finland a two to one lead. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed 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 beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The Americans fell in 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 honor to lead this team," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

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

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

Germany won the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its place next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.