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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third to give their team a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. 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

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

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

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

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.