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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to hand their team a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

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

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," stated the American bench boss. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to ensure his nation keep its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.