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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

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

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

The German team won the consolation match, defeating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its place next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.