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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and missing two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The Americans lost their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to lead this group," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really kills their morale."

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 Swedes remain perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to help his nation keep its spot for the following season in the top division. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.