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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

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

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its place next year in the top division. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.