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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while Canada will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia 6-3, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to hand their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

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

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

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

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today 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 Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied 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 powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Result

The German team won the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its place next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.