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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

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

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third to hand their team a 2-1 lead. He tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right circle.

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

Goaltending Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It was an privilege to coach this group," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

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

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to help the Swedes stay perfect in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Result

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side dropped to the second tier.