Team Russia moves on after winning the head-to-head tiebreaker against the 23-and-under squad. The Russians defeated North America 4-3 on Monday in an exciting, back-and-forth game that featured plenty of speed and scoring chances.
Team North America featured players 23 years old and younger from Canada and the United States and became a fan favorite with its underdog mentality. Nathan MacKinnon was on the club and finished with two goals, including the overtime winner on Wednesday against Sweden.
In Thursday's matchup against the Finns, Russia held a narrow 22-21 shot advantage but really made its mark in the second period where it tallied twice on its first three shots.
Vladimir Tarasenko and Ivan Telegin notched markers in the first 5:01 of the middle frame to give Russia a two-goal lead. Evgeni Malkin closed the scoring 3:31 into the final period.
Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov was the backup for Russia.
Russia will now face Canada, the winner of Group A, in a one-game semifinal matchup on Saturday at 5 p.m. MT.
In the other semifinal matchup, Team Sweden, which rosters Avs forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Carl Soderberg, plays Team Europe on Sunday at 11 a.m. MT.