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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion 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 resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to coach this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it kind of kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in their five outings.

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

Consolation Game Result

The German team won the relegation game, defeating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its place for the following season in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.