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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a six to two score.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand their team a 2-1 lead. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out 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 opportunities came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

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

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the American bench boss. "They played a great 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 Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.