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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat Latvia 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to give Finland a two to one lead. He tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Performances 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 back of the head versus Switzerland and missing two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with 9:45 left in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The Americans lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it really kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team won the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.