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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to hand their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at two-all with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their last two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an empty emotion 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 aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

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

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.