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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while Canada will play Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a two to one lead. He leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

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

"It was an privilege to lead this team," said the team's coach. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to ensure Germany keep its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.