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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

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

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head against the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole 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 took a feed from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

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

"It has been an honor to coach this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.