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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out two games.

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

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Result

The German team won the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its place next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.