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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 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 the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand their team a two to one lead. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one 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 Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their final two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to lead this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to help his nation keep its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.