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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to give their team a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

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

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedes stay perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its place next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.