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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

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

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances came from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation keep its place next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.