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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 evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand their team a two to one lead. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head versus the Swiss and missing two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an honor to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys 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 Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side remain perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

Germany won the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its spot for the following season in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.