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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

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

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It has been an honor to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

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

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its spot next year in the top division. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.