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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 engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand their team a two to one lead. He leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing six to three 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 team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.