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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give their team a two to one lead. He tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

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

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes remain perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany keep its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.