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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner Cole 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 two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

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

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

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 aid the Swedish side remain perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Result

The German team won the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to ensure his nation retain its place next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.