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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that payback 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 Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the University of 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 2-1 advantage. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against Switzerland and sitting out two games.

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

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The Americans lost their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

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

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

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

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

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its place next year in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.