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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 lead. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

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

"It has been an honor to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes remain undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.