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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

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

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

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

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to coach this group," stated the American bench boss. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

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

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

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

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team won the consolation match, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany keep its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.