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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

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

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score 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. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

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

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its place next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.