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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in regulation 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 period to hand their team a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head against the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson tallied on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in five games.

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

Consolation Match Result

Germany won the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.