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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to give Finland a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their last two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it really kills their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side remain perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.