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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to hand their team a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus Switzerland and missing two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

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

"It has been an honor to lead this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. 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 turned aside twenty-one shots.

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

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Result

The German team won the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its spot for the following season in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.