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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a two to one lead. He leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The Americans lost 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 lead this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

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

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its spot next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.