FARGO, N.D. – Behind three-point efforts from Drew Shore (Denver, Colo./2-1--3) andJerry D'Amigo (Binghamton, N.Y./1-2--3), the U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team downed the Czech Republic, 6-2, here tonight in a quarterfinal match-up at the 2009 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championship. Team USA improved to 4-0-0-1 in the tournament and will meet Canada on Friday in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. CT at the Urban Plains Center.

Team USA struck at 9:38 of the first period to take the 1-0 lead. The goal came when John Henrion (Holden, Mass.) streaked down the left wing, got around a defender and fed the puck to a charging Shore who got hauled down by a Czech defender, but still was able to slide the puck under netminder Filip Novotny as he crashed into the net. At 13:43, Shore doubled the U.S. advantage after he skated into the Czech zone and wired a shot up into the left corner of the net. The Czech Republic answered back when Antonin Honejsek collected a rebound and slid it under the stick of netminder Jack Campbell (Port Huron, Mich.) at 14:48 for a power-play goal.

Just 55 seconds into the second stanza, Philip Samuelsson (Scottsdale, Ariz.) slid a shot from the left point through the legs of Novotny to make it 3-1. With Team USA on a two-man advantage, Kenny Ryan (Franklin Village, Mich.) put the U.S. ahead by three when he collected the puck off the boards on the left side of the net and jammed it home at 8:54. D'Amigo stretched the U.S. advantage to four when Cam Fowler's (Farmington Hills, Mich.) shot from the left point glanced off of D'Amigo and inside the left post at 15:52. With Team USA on another two-man advantage, Fowler found Jeremy Morin (Auburn, N.Y.) who rocketed a one-timer off of the crossbar and down into the net with just 1:51 remaining in the middle frame.

The Czech Republic made it 6-2 at 4:24 of the final period, but would not score again as Campbell and the U.S. defense shut the door.

Campbell made 21 saves in the winning effort.

NOTES: Drew Shore was named Team USA's Player of the Game ... Jerry D'Amigoleads Team USA with 11 points (3-8), Kevin Lynch (Grosse Pointe, Mich./5-4--9) andJeremy Morin (5-4--9) are tied for second with nine points apiece ... Jack Campbellleads all goaltenders in the tournament with a .952 save percentage and 0.99 goals-against average ... Team USA out shot the Czech Republic 58-23. The U.S. has posted 50-plus shots in three of its five games at the IIHF World Under-18 Championship ... The U.S. and Canada will meet in the semifinals for the first time since 2007, when Team USA came away with a 4-3 shootout victory to advance to the gold-medal game ... The U.S. will be making its eighth consecutive appearance in the semifinals of the IIHF World Under-18 Championship ... All of Team USA's games, along with all games that are being played at the Urban Plains Center will be webcast live on FASTHockey.com on a pay-per-view basis ... The U.S. Men's National Under-18 Team has earned a medal in each of the last five IIHF World Under-18 Championships, including the gold (2005, 2006), silver (2004, 2007) and the bronze (2008). Team USA also captured the gold at the 2002 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

GAME SUMMARY

Scoring By Period

USA 2 4 0 -- 6
CZE 1 0 1 -- 2

First Period - Scoring: 1, USA, Shore (Henrion) 9:38; 2, USA, Shore (Bourque, Rempel), 3, CZE, Honejsek (Nestrasil, Polasek), 14:48. Penalties: CZE, Herman (charging), 6:12; USA, Bourque (boarding), 11:05; USA, Clendening (holding), 14:26; CZE, Jerabek (holding), 16:15.

Second Period - Scoring: 4, USA, Samuelsson (Shore), :55; 5, USA, Ryan (D'Amigo), 8:54 (5x3 pp); 6, USA, D'Amigo (Fowler), 15:52; 7, USA, Morin (Fowler, D'Amigo), 18:09 (5x3 pp). Penalties: CZE, Culek (tripping), 7:20; CZE, Nestrasil (slashing), 7:27; USA, Henrion (roughing), 10:21; CZE, Hlinka (holding), 13:31; CZE, Horak (holding), 16:20; CZE, Jerabek (holding), 17:40.

Third Period - Scoring: 8, CZE, Palat (Musil, Herman), 4:24 (pp). Penalties: USA, Brown (kneeing), 2:46; CZE, Straka (slashing), 5:25; USA, Shore (rouging), 6:45; CZE, Jerabek (roughing), 6:45; CZE, Tuma (roughing), 16:29; USA, Morin (roughing), 16:29.

Shots by Period 1 2 3 Total
USA 15 25 18 58
CZE 5 9 9 23
         
Goaltenders (SH/SV) 1 2 3 Total
USA, Campbell, 60:00 5-4 9-9 9-8 23-21
CZE, Novotny, 60:00 15-13 25-21 18-18 58-52

Power Play: USA 2-9; CZE 2-5
Penalties: USA 6-12; CZE 10-20
Officials: Referees -Georgij Jablukow(GER), Daniel Stricker (SUI); Linesmen - Matt MacPherson (CAN), Fredrik Ulriksson (SWE)
Attendance: 2049