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Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at 2:11 of extra time as the Finnish squad engineered a remarkable four to three win over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday evening in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give credit to the United States," stated Finland's leader A. Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with exceptional players and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, the Finns will take on the Swedish team, while Canada will play Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Canada had a five-goal first period in a seven to one romp over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a six to two score.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

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

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand Finland a 2-1 advantage. Tuuva tied it at 2 with 7:17 left, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU defenseman Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the head against Switzerland and sitting out two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities resulted from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the United States a two to one edge on a man advantage with 9:45 left in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled the Finnish goaltender with a one-timer from the right side.

C. Hutson scored on a rush thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf made 21 saves.

The Americans fell in their last two games – losing six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the final preliminary game – after winning their first three.

"It has been an privilege to coach this team," said the team's coach. "Our guys played a great game tonight and came up just short. All credit to Finland. It's an empty emotion right now, but our guys left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin scored in the following period. J. Ivankovic made twenty-one shots.

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

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two assists to help the Swedish side stay perfect in their five outings.

In Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Outcome

Germany won the consolation match, defeating Denmark 8-4. Manuel Schams scored twice to help his nation retain its place next year in the main event. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.