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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. 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 semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

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

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling six to three to the Swedes 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 great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

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

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

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.