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

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

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give their team a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany won the consolation match, defeating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.