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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great players 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 face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder 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 give Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays 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 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 his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden 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. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really kills their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.