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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe 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. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their final two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to coach this group," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team 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 second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it kind of kills 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 helpers to help the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Result

Germany won the relegation game, beating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to ensure his nation keep its place next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.