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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 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 full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

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

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give their team a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left side.

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad 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 lead this team," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really kills their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Result

The German team won the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.