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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

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 wing.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," said the team's coach. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. 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 powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Outcome

The German team won the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.