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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"We must give credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, full of exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give Finland a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Between the Pipes Stats

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

The U.S. squad fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to coach this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game tonight and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really kills their confidence."

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

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team triumphed in the consolation match, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure his nation keep its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.