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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great individuals 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 take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It has been an honor to lead this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.