Ufa, Russia (Sports Network) - John Gaudreau's hat trick propelled the United States to a 7-0 victory over the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals of the World Junior Hockey Championship.
Riley Barber scored twice during a five-goal second period for the Americans, who advance to a semifinal matchup with Canada on Thursday. The Canadians, who beat the U.S. by a 2-1 margin in round-robin play, won Group B to earn a bye into the semis.
Since the loss to Canada, the Americans have scored 16 goals in winning their last two games. They knocked off Slovakia, 9-3, in their final preliminary round game.
Seth Jones and Jacob Trouba each picked up four assists in Wednesday's rout for the Americans, while John Gibson stopped 31 shots to record the shutout. The U.S. finished with five power-play goals.
Russia also advanced to the semifinals with a 4-3 shootout win over Switzerland on Wednesday. The Russians will next face Group A champion Sweden on Thursday.
Nikita Kucherov scored the tying goal late in the third period for Russia and also netted the shootout winner.
