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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of overtime as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head versus Switzerland and missing two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today 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 Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it really saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes stay perfect in five games.

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

Relegation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help Germany retain its place for the following season in the top division. Denmark dropped to the second tier.