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Finland's Arttu Välilä scored the decisive goal at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as the Finnish squad pulled off a stunning four to three victory over the two-time defending champion American team on Friday night in the world junior hockey quarter-finals.

"Got to give credit to the US," stated Finnish captain A. Kiviharju. "They are a fantastic squad, full of great individuals and a superbly organized team. But I said we were seeking that revenge from the previous final, and I believe we truly deserved it this evening."

In the semi-finals Sunday, Finland will face the Swedish team, while Canada will meet the Czech Republic. The Swedes defeated Latvia 6-3, Canada produced a five-goal first period in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and Czechia topped the Swiss by a 6-2 margin.

Dramatic Final Frame and Extra Session

Michigan State’s Lee Ryker knotted the score for the United States with one minute and thirty-three seconds left in the third period and the University of Notre Dame netminder N. Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

L. Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen found the net in a fifty-five-second burst in the third period to hand their team a two to one advantage. He leveled the score at two-all with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then assisted on his teammate's game-leading goal with 6:22 on the clock. J. Saarelainen also earned a helper on the first 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 the Swiss and sitting out the next two contests.

"I thought we made good plays for most of the game," Hutson said. "But the small details that they got, many of their high-quality opportunities came from our errors."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a 2-1 lead on a power play with nine minutes and forty-five seconds left in the middle frame. He took a feed from Hutson and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

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

Goaltending Summary

• Finland's goalie saved twenty-eight attempts.
• The American netminder recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans fell in their final two games – falling 6-3 to Sweden on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their initial three matches.

"It was an honor to lead this group," stated the team's coach. "They played a great game today and came up just short. All credit to the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our players gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the second match in Minneapolis, the Canadian team routed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, M. Misa, S. O'Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and P. Martone and C. Beaudoin connected in the second. Jack Ivankovic turned aside 21 saves.

"Just goes to show how powerful we are," B. Martin remarked. "Going up five-nothing advantage, it kind of saps their morale."

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

Meanwhile, in Minneapolis T. Galvas, Samuel Drancak, A. Jiricek, P. Sikora, Jiri Klima and J. Fibigr scored for the Czech team.

Relegation Game Result

Germany triumphed in the relegation game, defeating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams had two goals to help his nation retain its place next year in the top division. Denmark was relegated to Division I-A.