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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give their team a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

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

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

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

Consolation Game Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. 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.