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

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

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

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

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

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender 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 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this team," stated the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany keep its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.