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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 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 credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional 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 this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

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

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to coach this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 lead, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Result

Germany won the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure his nation retain its spot next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to Division I-A.