Early offense and an outstanding goaltending exhibition late by John Gibson allowed the United States to skate away with a 5-1 win against Canada in the first semifinal at the 2013 World Junior Championship.
John Gaudreau scored his second goal of the game with 4:19 left in the third period, and Gibson was at the top of his game as the United States advanced to the gold-medal game for the first time since the 2010 WJC in Saskatoon. They now await the winner of the second semifinal, between Sweden and Russia, in Saturday's championship game (8 a.m. ET, NHLN-US, TSN).
Jake McCabe had a pair of goals and an assist, and Jimmy Vesey also had a goal and an assist for the United States.
Ty Rattie scored a shorthanded goal as Canada came out with more energy in the third period, but that was the only puck Gibson allowed past him. The Anaheim Ducks prospect was at his best on a Canada power play midway through the period. He denied Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the tournament's leading scorer, from all alone in the slot, and moments later slid across to make a stop on Dougie Hamilton from the post.
Contact Adam Kimelman at [email protected]. Follow him in Twitter: @NHLAdamK