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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

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

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to give Finland a 2-1 advantage. He leveled the score at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The BU defenseman C. 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 made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances came from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It has been an honor to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it kind of saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.