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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it tonight."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden beat Latvia six to three, Team Canada had a first-period five-goal outburst in a 7-1 rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 score.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame goalie Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give their team a two to one advantage. He tied it at two-all with 7:17 left, then set up Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most 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 university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one edge on a power play with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Finland's goalie stopped 28 shots.
• The American netminder made twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their last two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to lead this group," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a terrific game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players gave it all they had."

Additional Quarter-Final Action

In the late game in the host city, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," B. Martin said. "Going up five-nothing lead, it really kills their confidence."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two assists to aid the Swedes remain perfect in five games.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Result

The German team won the relegation game, beating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its spot next year in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.