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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to give their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really saps 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 Swedish side remain undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.