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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to hand their team a 2-1 lead. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the head versus the Swiss and missing 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 opportunities came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The Americans lost their final two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

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

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.

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

Consolation Match Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.