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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Summary

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

The Americans lost their last two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in the host city, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

Germany won the consolation match, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its place next year in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.