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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

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

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick 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 give their team a two to one lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we made good plays for a lot of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances came from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second. H. 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 recorded 21 saves.

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

"It was an privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys 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 guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the second match in the host city, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

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

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.