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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave 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 one-timer from the right circle.

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

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

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

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

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

Relegation Game Result

Germany won the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its spot for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.