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

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional 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 semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate 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 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.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in 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 honor to lead this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

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

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay perfect in five games.

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

Relegation Match Result

The German team won the consolation match, defeating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.