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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a two to one edge on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this group," stated the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

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

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.