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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great players and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden beat the Latvian side 6-3, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. He tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also assisted on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

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

"It was an honor to lead this team," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Playoff Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side stay undefeated in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Denmark 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its spot for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.