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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the two-time defending champion United States on Friday evening in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"We must give full credit to the United States," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, loaded with exceptional players and a well coached team. But I said we were seeking that payback from the previous final, and I believe we kind of earned it this evening."

In the semifinal matches Sunday, the Finns will take on Sweden, while the Canadians will meet Czechia. The Swedes beat Latvia six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over Slovakia, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two score.

Thrilling Third Period and Extra Session

The Michigan State Spartan L. Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in regulation and the Notre Dame goalie N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a 55-second burst in the third period to hand their team a 2-1 lead. He leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up Saarelainen’s go-ahead goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Reactions

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and a helper for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing the next two contests.

"In my opinion we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His BU teammate C. Eiserman handed the United States a two to one lead on a man advantage with nine minutes and forty-five seconds remaining in the middle frame. He accepted a pass from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break thirty-five seconds into the second period. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at 4:46 on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

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

The U.S. squad lost their last two games – falling six to three to the Swedes on Wednesday in the group finale – after starting with their initial three matches.

"It was an privilege to lead this team," said the American bench boss. "They played a great game tonight and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an hollow feeling at the moment, but our players left everything on the ice."

Additional Playoff Results

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

C. Reschny, T. Iginla, M. Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. J. Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how dominant we are," B. Martin said. "Going up 5-0 advantage, it kind of kills their confidence."

In the opening playoff game, A. Frondell scored twice for Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to aid the Swedish side stay undefeated in their five outings.

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, S. Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Match Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to help Germany retain its spot for the following season in the main event. Denmark was relegated to the second tier.