UFA, Russia – John Gaudreau (Carneys Point, N.J./Boston College) scored three goals and the U.S. had five power-play goals as the U.S. National Junior Team defeated the Czech Republic, 7-0, here tonight at Ufa Arena in a quarterfinal game of the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship. The win advances Team USA into the semifinal round, where it will face Canada tomorrow (Thursday, Jan. 3).

"Today we played outstanding from the goalie out to our defensemen and forwards," said Phil Housley, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team. "I think we're coming into our own as a team. It's always good to get the first goal, and then in the second period our power play was clicking and we pulled away. We're looking forward to tomorrow's semifinal game against Canada."

Gaudreau notched Team USA's first goal of the game on a five-on-three power play at 11:46 of the opening period. Seth Jones (Plano, Texas/Portland Winterhawks) and Jacob Trouba (Rochester, Mich./Univ. of Michigan), who each posted four assists today, played catch at the point before Trouba sent the puck on goal. The shot was deflected to the right of the net for Gaudreau to slam past goalie Patrik Bartosak.

Just 28 seconds into the second stanza, Gaudreau scored a near duplicate of his first goal of the game. On the power play, a shot from Jake McCabe (Eau Claire, Wis./Univ. of Wisconsin) hit J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio/Connecticut Whale) and went directly to Gaudreau for the tap-in tally. Ryan Hartman (West Dundee, Ill./Plymouth Whalers) put the U.S. up by three 40 seconds later, resulting in a goalie change for the Czech Republic.

Riley Barber (Livonia, Mich./Miami Univ.) boosted the U.S. lead to 5-0 with goals at 8:44 and 12:13. First, Barber and Alex Galchenyuk (Milwaukee, Wis./Sarnia Sting) played give-and-go along the right side with Barber scoring from the edge of the crease. Next, Barber scored on a breakaway that was started by Jones in the U.S. end.

With 13 seconds remaining in the second period, Gaudreau completed his hat trick, again on the power play, to give the U.S. a 6-0 lead. Miller and Jones assisted on the play.

Four minutes into the final stanza, the U.S. made it 7-0 on its fifth-power play goal of the game. Set up in front of the goalie, Miller leaped in the air to avoid a Trouba blast and deflected the puck past the goaltender.

John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kitchener Rangers) stopped 31 shots for the U.S. in the shutout, while Bartosek turned aside 10-of-13 shots and Matej Machovsky had a 23-save showing in relief for the Czech Republic.

Team USA will face Canada on Thursday (Jan. 3) at 3 p.m. (4 a.m. ET) in Ufa, Russia. NHL Network (DirectTV 215, Dish 403) will broadcast the game live, while NHL.com will provide a live stream.

NOTES: John Gaudreau was named the Player of the Game for Team USA. Gaudreau leads the U.S. with five goals, all of which have come in the last two games ... The U.S. has nine power-play goals in the last two games, scoring five times today and four times vs. Slovakia on Dec. 31 ... Team USA has notched a five-goal period in back-to-back games, achieving the feat in the first period vs. Slovakia (Dec. 31) and the second period today ... A U.S. player has notched a hat trick in each of the last three IIHF World Junior Championship tournaments ... For the most thorough coverage of Team USA at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship, click here ... NHL Network is broadcasting all Team USA games live and re-airing them in prime time each night. NHL.com is also streaming all games live ... Phil Housley (South St. Paul, Minn.), head boy's ice hockey coach at Stillwater (Minn.) High School, is the head coach of the 2013 U.S. National Junior Team. He is assisted by Mark Osiecki (Columbus, Ohio), head men's ice hockey coach at Ohio State University, Grant Potulny (Minneapolis, Minn.), assistant men's ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota and David Lassonde (Denver, Colo.), assistant men's ice hockey coach at the University of Denver ... Jim Johannson (Colorado Springs, Colo.), USA Hockey's assistant executive director of hockey operations, is serving as the general manager of Team USA for the fourth consecutive year. Tim Taylor (Guilford, Conn.) is the director of player personnel ... Use the hashtag #USAWJC to join the conversation on Twitter.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Gaudreau (Trouba, Jones), 11:45 (5x3 pp). Penalties: USA, Hartman (roughing), 3:50; CZE, Sidlik (slashing), 4:07; USA, Biggs (boarding), 6:46; CZE, Musil (slashing), 6:46; USA, Bardreau (goaltender interference), 7:11; CZE, Jenik (hooking), 9:49; CZE, Jaskin (hooking), 11:23; USA, Trouba (holding), 18:00; CZE, Musil (slashing), 19:13.

Second Period – Scoring: 2, USA, Gaudreau (Miller, McCabe), 0:28 (pp); 3, USA, Hartman (Bardreau, Trouba), 1:08; 4, USA, Barber (Galchenyuk, Trouba), 8:44 (pp); 5, USA, Barber (Jones), 12:13; 6, USA, Gaudreau (Miller, Jones), 19:47 (pp). Penalties: USA, Hartman (roughing), 5:02; USA, Reilly (roughing), 5:02; CZE, Hrbas (roughing), 5:02; CZE, Frk (roughing), 5:02; CZE, Sedlak (boarding), 8:22; USA, Trocheck (hooking), 10:12; CZE, Musil (delaying the game), 19:10.
 

Third Period – Scoring: 7, USA, Miller (Jones, Trouba), 4:08 (5x3 pp). Penalties: CZE, Hertl (tripping), 3:33; CZE, Jenik (delaying the game), 3:39; CZE, Faska (cross-checking), 5:24; USA, Vesey (roughing), 12:06; USA, Galchenyuk (interference), 12:06; CZE, Musil (roughing), 12:06; CZE, Frk (slashing), 13:36; CZE, Frk (misconduct), 13:36; USA, Hartman (interference), 15:06; CZE, Beran (high-sticking), 16:27; CZE, Nemec (high-sticking), 17:25; CZE, Hrbas (cross-checking), 18:48.
 

Power Play: USA, 5-13; CZE, 0-6
Penalties: USA, 10-20; CZE, 17-44