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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three victory 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 United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to give their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It has been an honor to lead this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Result

Germany won the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.