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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third to hand Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head versus Switzerland and missing two games.

"I thought 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 chances resulted from our mistakes."

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

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

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their last two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after winning their first three.

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

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam 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 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really saps their morale."

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

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.