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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time 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 United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a two to one lead. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

"I thought 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 university colleague C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Goaltending Stats

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

The Americans lost their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It has been an honor to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

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

Relegation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its place next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.