WORLD JUNIORS: Four Devils Prospects Head to Semi-Finals

It was a big night for a couple of Devils prospects in the late Quarterfinal games at the World Junior Championship. Canada and Dawson Mercer are off to the semi-finals, as is Patrick Moynihan's United States team.
Mercer and the Canadians beat the Czech Republic in a 3-0 shutout. Mercer played 12:03 and had two shots on goal, on a stacked Canadian squad. Netminder Devon Levy made 29 saves for his second shutout of the tournament. The seventh-round draft selection by the Florida Panthers has conceded just two goals in four games, with two shutout victories. The loss for the Czech eliminates New Jersey prospect, Jaromir Pytlik, from the tournament.
Canada moves on to face Russia in the semi-finals setting up a matchup between Mercer and fellow Devils prospects Shakir Mukhamadullin and Arseni Gritsyuk.
Devils prospect Patrick Moynihan wasn't in the lineup when the United States beat Slovakia by a 5-2 margin. Moynihan was hit earlier in the tournament and was unable to play. The victory by the US sets up a semi-final with Finland, who earlier in the day beat Sweden in stunning fashion, scoring the go-ahead goal with just seconds on the clock. The Finnish win eliminated Alexander Holtz from the tournament, leaving four Devils prospects left in the hunt for the gold medal.

THE NUMBERS:

MERCER (CANADA):
5 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 P
PYTLIK (CZECH):
1 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
MOYNIHAN (USA):
3 GP, 0 G, 2 A, 2 P
HOLTZ (SWEDEN):
5 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 P
MUKHAMADULLIN (RUSSIA):
5 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P
GRITSYUK (RUSSIA):
5 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
UP NEXT: Canada and Russia have a semi-final showdown on Monday, January 4th at 6 p.m. followed by USA versus Finland at 9:30 p.m.