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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finland's leader Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of exceptional individuals and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s L. Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in regulation and the University of Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third period to give Finland a two to one lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for a lot of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A opportunities resulted from our mistakes."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki 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 28 shots.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after winning their initial three matches.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadians overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

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

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

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

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

Relegation Game Result

The German team won the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation keep its place for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.