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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

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

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to give Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 to go, 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 Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had 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 made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to lead this group," stated the American bench boss. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side stay undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany keep its place next year in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.