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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third to give their team a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

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

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to lead this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation retain its place next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.