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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give their team a two to one lead. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on 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.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

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

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush 35 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 Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad 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 has been an privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes remain perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its place next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.