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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to give their team a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

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

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to coach this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel 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, defeating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.