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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus Switzerland and missing two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight 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."

Additional Playoff Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its spot next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.