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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to give their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head versus the Swiss and missing two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad 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 privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

In the second match in the host city, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation retain its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.