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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it 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.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to give their team a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head against the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

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

Additional Playoff Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. 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 remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its place next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.