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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. Sweden defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against the Swiss and missing two games.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a two to one lead on a power play with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a rush 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.

Between the Pipes Summary

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

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

"It was an privilege to lead this team," said the team's coach. "They played a great game today and fell just a bit 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 Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how dominant we are," Martin said. "Going up 5-0 lead, it really saps their morale."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

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

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.