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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States 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 Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to give Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

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

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, 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 Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.