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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

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

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to give Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva 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.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head against the Swiss and missing two games.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with 9:45 left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it really saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team won the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.