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

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of great individuals 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 tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, 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 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

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

His BU teammate C. 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 accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to lead this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in the host city, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain undefeated in five games.

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

Relegation Game Result

The German team won the consolation match, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.