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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 night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada produced 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 Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to give Finland a two to one lead. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many 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 9:45 left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Summary

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

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay perfect in their five outings.

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

Consolation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.