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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to give their team a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. 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 executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

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

Other Playoff Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Result

Germany won the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.