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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling 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 regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Goaltending Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.