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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds 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 last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five 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 28 shots.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its place next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.