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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden beat the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to hand their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion 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 came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

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

"It has been an honor to lead this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its place for the following season in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.