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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal 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 night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to give Finland a two to one lead. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

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

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a man advantage 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 fast break 35 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 made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It has been an privilege to lead this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

In the second match in the host city, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

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

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really kills their confidence."

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

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

Relegation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.