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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 night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron 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 think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. Sweden beat the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to give their team a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

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

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. 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 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany won the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its spot next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.