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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we wanted that payback from the previous final, and I think we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will play Czechia. The Swedes beat the Latvian side six to three, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over Slovakia, and Czechia topped Switzerland by a 6-2 score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second span in the third to give Finland a 2-1 lead. Tuuva leveled the score at two-all with 7:17 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 Tuuva’s goal.

Key Contributions and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the Americans after taking a shot in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we executed well for most of the game," the defenseman commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the United States a two to one edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the second period. He took a feed from his teammate and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

Hutson tallied on a fast break 35 seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Between the Pipes Stats

• Rimpinen saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad lost their final two games – losing 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

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

Other Quarter-Final Action

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the five-goal first.

Cole Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and B. Martin scored in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin remarked. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it kind of kills their morale."

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

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

Relegation Match Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. Manuel Schams scored twice to help Germany keep its place next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.