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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick 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 hand their team a two to one lead. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to lead this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

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

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.