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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third 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 go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

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

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its spot next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.