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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"We must give credit to the US," remarked Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that payback from last year, and I think we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semifinal matches on Sunday, the Finns will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet Czechia. Sweden beat Latvia 6-3, Team Canada had a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf off for an extra attacker.

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand their team a two to one advantage. He tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then set up his teammate's go-ahead goal with 6:22 remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Reactions

The BU blueliner Cole Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the head versus Switzerland and missing two games.

"In my opinion we executed well for a lot of the game," the defenseman said. "But the small details that they got, many of their Grade-A opportunities came from our mistakes."

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

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

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The U.S. squad fell in their last two games – losing 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It was an privilege to lead this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game tonight and fell just a bit short. Give Finland. It's an hollow feeling right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Additional Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how dominant we can be," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it really saps their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender Leo Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedes stay undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, J. Klima and J. Fibigr provided the goals for the Czechs.

Consolation Match Outcome

Germany triumphed in the consolation match, beating the Danes 8-4. Manuel Schams had two goals to ensure Germany retain its place for the following season in the main event. Denmark dropped to the second tier.