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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of overtime as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory 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," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 lead. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

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

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a power play with 9:45 left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to lead this team," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it really kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Outcome

The German team won the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.