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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of exceptional individuals 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 semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Third Period and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third period to give their team a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

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

The Americans fell in their final two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to coach this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side remain undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Result

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation keep its spot next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.