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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to give their team a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

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

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

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

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Result

The German team won the relegation game, defeating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.