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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain A. 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 the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to give Finland a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and missing two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole 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 took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

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

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

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 B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

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

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

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

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its spot next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.