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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 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to hand Finland a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, 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 Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

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

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to lead this group," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.