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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to give their team a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 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 recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this group," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," Martin said. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.