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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

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

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Game Outcome

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