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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia 6-3, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one 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 Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva tied it at two-all with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the head against Switzerland and sitting out two games.

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

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson tallied on a rush 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game today and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam 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.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it really saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side stay undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany won the consolation match, beating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its spot for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.