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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a power play with 9:45 left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this group," said the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it really saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Result

Germany won the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.