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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 two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to hand their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole 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 accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

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

"It has been an privilege to lead this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team 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 C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.