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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime 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 quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and missing two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities came from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach 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 hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side 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 Czech team.

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.