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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, full of great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes defeated Latvia six to three, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 rout over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 remaining in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give their team a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for a lot of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman gave the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson scored on a rush 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• Kempf recorded 21 saves.

The Americans lost their last two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to lead this team," stated the American bench boss. "They played a terrific game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give the Finns. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Playoff Action

In the second match in the host city, the Canadians routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

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

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedes stay undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Result

The German team won the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its spot next year in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.