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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face Sweden, while Canada will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and the Czechs overcame Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Third Period 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 N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third to give Finland a two to one advantage. He leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the head versus the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

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

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

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

"It was an honor to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game today and fell just a bit short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Action

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 advantage, it kind of saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes stay perfect in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to ensure his nation retain its place next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.