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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson had 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 made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad 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 was an honor to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Result

Germany won the consolation match, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.