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Finland's 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 United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from last year, 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 the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 lead. He tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head against the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

In the second match in the host city, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation retain its spot for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.