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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

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

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand their team a two to one advantage. He leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities came from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson tallied on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

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

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players 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.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Result

The German team won the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its spot next year in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.