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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to lead this team," stated the American bench boss. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it really saps their confidence."

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

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

Consolation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its spot for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.