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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

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

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

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

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it kind of kills their morale."

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

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

Consolation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.