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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will play the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to give Finland a two to one lead. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The Americans lost their last two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain perfect in their five outings.

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

Relegation Match Result

The German team won the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.