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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their confidence."

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

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its place for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.