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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

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

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to coach this group," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today 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."

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter 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 remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

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

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to ensure his nation retain its place next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.