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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat Latvia 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva tied it at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game today and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really saps their confidence."

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its place next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.