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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three win over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"We must give credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds left, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head against the Swiss and missing two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The Americans fell in their last two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with 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. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Outcome

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