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Arttu Välilä netted the winner at 2:11 of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable four to three win over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday evening in the world junior hockey last eight.

"Got to give credit to the United States," remarked Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a fantastic squad, loaded with great players and a well coached team. But I mentioned we were seeking that payback from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals on Sunday, Finland will take on the Swedish team, while the Canadians will play Czechia. The Swedes defeated the Latvian side 6-3, Team Canada produced a five-goal first period in a 7-1 romp over Slovakia, and Czechia overcame the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Third Period and Overtime

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

L. Tuuva and J. Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second burst in the third to give their team a 2-1 lead. Tuuva tied it at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on Saarelainen’s game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds on the clock. Saarelainen also assisted on the first goal.

Notable Contributions and Post-Game Comments

The BU blueliner C. Hutson had a goal and a helper for the United States after taking a shot in the back of the head versus the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the little bounces that they got, many of their high-quality chances resulted from our errors."

His university colleague C. Eiserman gave the U.S. a 2-1 edge on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the second period. He took a feed from Hutson and beat Petteri Rimpinen with a quick shot from the right side.

Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. H. Ruohonen equalized at 4:46 on a quick shot from the left side.

Between the Pipes Summary

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

The Americans lost their final two games – falling six to three to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It was an honor to coach this team," stated the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling right now, but our players left everything on the ice."

Other Quarter-Final Results

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

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and B. Martin tallied in the first period, and P. Martone and Cole Beaudoin connected in the following period. Jack Ivankovic turned aside twenty-one shots.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," Martin said. "Taking a 5-0 lead, it kind of kills their morale."

In the first quarter-final, A. Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defender L. Sahlin Wallenius had a goal and two helpers 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.

Consolation Match Outcome

The German team won the relegation game, beating Denmark eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation keep its spot for the following season in the top division. The Danish side was relegated to the second tier.