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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. He tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances came from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

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 side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team won the relegation game, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.