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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden defeated the Latvian side six to three, Team 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.

Dramatic Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker tied it for the United States with 1:33 left in regulation and the Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a two to one advantage. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University defenseman C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the Americans after being struck in the back of the head versus the Swiss and missing the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our mistakes."

His BU teammate Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson tallied on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. H. Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Rimpinen saved 28 shots.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – losing six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the final preliminary game – after starting with their first three.

"It has been an honor to coach this group," stated the team's coach. "Our guys played a terrific game today and came up just short. Give Finland. It's an hollow emotion right now, but our guys gave it all they had."

Additional Playoff Results

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

Cole Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin scored in the first period, and Porter Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"This demonstrates how powerful we can be," Martin remarked. "Taking a five-nothing lead, it kind of kills their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes remain undefeated in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, Jiri Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany won the relegation game, defeating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure his nation keep its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side was relegated to Division I-A.