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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from last year, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give their team a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

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

His BU teammate C. Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

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

The Americans fell in their final two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

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

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to help Germany keep its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.