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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an privilege to lead this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in their five outings.

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

Consolation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.