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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a six to two 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 the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to give Finland a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their final two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to lead this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it really kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

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

Consolation Match Result

Germany won the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.