UFA, Russia – The U.S. National Junior Team advanced to the gold medal game of the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship by defeating Canada, 5-1, in the semifinals here tonight at Ufa Arena. Captain Jake McCabe (Eau Claire, Wis./Univ. of Wisconsin) scored two goals and added an assist, while John Gaudreau (Carneys Point, N.J./Boston College) added two goals of his own. Team USA will face either Russia or Sweden on Saturday (Jan. 5).

"We got the start we wanted, scoring the all-important first goal," said Phil Housley, head coach of the U.S. National Junior Team. "We wanted to dictate the pace of the game early and we were able to do that and then it carried into the second period. We're going to enjoy this win tonight and then start thinking about the gold medal game tomorrow."

McCabe opened the scoring at 7:18 of the first period. Riley Barber (Livonia, Mich./Miami Univ.) was stopped on a good chance in the slot, but he stayed with the play and feathered a pass back into the high slot. Left alone, McCabe snapped the puck over Malcolm Subban's glove. With 3:58 to play in the opening frame, McCabe stretched the U.S. lead to 2-0. Vince Trocheck (Pittsburgh, Pa./Saginaw Spirit) and Rocco Grimaldi (Rossmoor, Calif./Univ. of North Dakota) exchanged passes before the puck was deflected to McCabe, who again beat Subban over the shoulder from between the circles.

Three minutes into the second stanza, Gaudreau notched Team USA's third goal. Gaudreau glided through the left circle on a two-on-two rush, toe-dragged around a defeneman and scored high to the glove side. At the 12:44 mark, Jim Vesey (North Reading, Mass./Harvard Univ.) made it 4-0 for the U.S. Gaudreau streaked down the middle and passed to Vesey, who beat his defender in the right circle and scored low inside the left post. Canada then opted for a goaltending change and sent Jordan Binnington into the net.
 

Canada cut the U.S. lead to three at 4:03 of the final frame on a shorthanded goal, but Gaudreau converted on a breakaway chance at 15:41 to seal the victory for Team USA.
 

John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Kitchener Rangers) stopped 33 shots for the U.S. in the win, while Subban turned aside 12 shots and Binnington made 25 saves for Canada.

The victory gives Team USA a 4-0-0-2 (W-OTW-OTL-L) in the tournament heading into the gold medal game.

The gold medal game is scheduled for 7 p.m. (8 a.m. ET) on Saturday (Jan. 5) in Ufa, Russia. NHL Network (DirectTV 215, Dish 403) will be broadcasting live and NHL.com will provide a live stream.

NOTES: Jake McCabe was named the Player of the Game for Team USA ... John Gaudreau now has seven goals in the tournament, which ties for second-most on the U.S. single-tournament goal list. All seven goals have been in the last three games ... Ten of Team USA's 31 goals have been scored by defensemen ... 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, McCabe (Barber, Reilly), 7:18; 2, USA, McCabe (Grimaldi, Trocheck), 16:02. Penalties: None.

Second Period – Scoring: 3, USA, Gaudreau (McCabe, Gibson), 2:58; 4, USA, Vesey (Gaudreau, Miller), 12:44. Penalties: CAN, Nugent-Hopkins (slashing), 6:48; USA, Murphy (tripping), 9:46; CAN, Reinhart (high-sticking), 14:20; CAN, Camara (high-sticking), 18:54.

Third Period – Scoring: 5, CAN, Rattie (Danault), 4:03 (sh); 6, USA, Gaudreau (Vesey, Miller), 15:41. Penalties: USA, Sieloff (handling the puck), 1:48; CAN, Scheifele (kneeing), 1:48; CAN, Team (too many men), 2:57; USA, Gaudreau (high-sticking), 9:54; CAN, Camara (high-sticking), 15:56; CAN, Danault (kneeing), 18:50; CAN, Reinhart (cross-checking), 20:00.

Power Play: CAN, 0-2; USA, 0-6
Penalties: CAN, 8-16; USA, 3-6