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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory 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," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

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

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

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

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

Germany won the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation keep its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.