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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to give Finland 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 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head against the Swiss and missing two games.

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

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their last two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to lead this group," stated the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

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

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it really saps their confidence."

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

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Result

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its spot for the following season in the top division. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.