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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden beat the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee 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 J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand their team a two to one advantage. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave 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 Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The Americans lost their last two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side remain perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

The German team won the consolation match, defeating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.