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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a six to two score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give Finland a 2-1 lead. He tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

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

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

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

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

Germany won the relegation game, beating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its place next year in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.