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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic 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 University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third to give their team a two to one advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities came from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

In the second match in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really kills their morale."

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team won the consolation match, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation retain its place next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.