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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three 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 A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to hand their team a two to one lead. Tuuva tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"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 Grade-A chances came from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

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

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of kills their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

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

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot for the following season in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.