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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

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

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give their team a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

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

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an privilege to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing lead, 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 helpers to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Result

Germany won the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its place next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.