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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I said 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 take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s 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 netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to give their team a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score 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 the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

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

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Result

Germany won the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.