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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a six to two score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand Finland a two to one advantage. He leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

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

"It was an honor to lead this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, 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 aid the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

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

Consolation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.