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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," remarked Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score 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 Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

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 first three.

"It was an honor to lead this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," B. Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

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

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

Relegation Game Result

Germany won the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure his nation retain its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.