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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, full of exceptional players and a well coached team. But I said we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second span in the third period to give their team a 2-1 lead. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 to go, then set up 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 Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman C. Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought 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 opportunities came from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a 2-1 lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He accepted a pass from Hutson and beat the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

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

Goaltending Summary

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their last two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their first three.

"It was an honor to lead this group," stated the team's coach. "They played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we can be," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it really saps their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

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

Consolation Game Outcome

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating Denmark eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its spot next year in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.