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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 four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," remarked Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional individuals and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned 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 beat the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second span in the third to give Finland a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the head against the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

C. Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder made 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. 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.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it really kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes remain perfect in five games.

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

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team won the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany keep its spot next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.