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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third to hand Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their final two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific 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 Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their confidence."

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

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

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team won the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its place for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.