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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while Canada will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to lead this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

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

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Result

The German team won the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.