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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 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third to give their team a two to one lead. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole 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 took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Result

The German team won the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.