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Finland's 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 United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand Finland a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 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 earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

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

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

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

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

"It was an privilege to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

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

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side remain perfect in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its place next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.