Trevor Zegras had two goals and three assists, and the United States beat the Czech Republic 7-0 on Tuesday to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of the world junior hockey championship.
Bobby Brink had two goals for the U.S., and Spencer Knight made 22 saves. The Americans improved to 2-1 in Group B and close out preliminary round play Thursday night against Sweden.
The United States grabbed control with three goals in the second period. Brink made it 1-0 at 5:33 when he collected the rebound off a Brett Berard shot and beat Czech goaltender Lukas Parik. After Zegras scored off a nice cross-ice pass by Henry Thrun, Brink made it 3-0 when he angled a shot past Parik from the top of the crease.
The U.S. added four more in the third, including three power-play goals. Zegras made it 4-0 at 6:03, and Arthur Kaliyev, Cole Caufield and Matthew Boldy, the Wild's 2019 first-round draft pick, closed out the scoring.
Canada crushed Switzerland 10-0 in another preliminary game. Quinton Byfield had two goals and four assists, leading Canada to the victory.
Jakob Pelletier scored twice for Canada (3-0). Connor McMichael, Dylan Cozens, Philip Tomasino, Ryan Suzuki, Cole Perfetti and Kaiden Guhle also scored for the defending champions.
Canadian goaltender Devon Levi posted 15 saves in the shutout.
Swiss goalie Noah Patenaude stopped 42 shots in the loss in his first start of the tournament.
Canada finishes the preliminary round Thursday against Finland in what is expected to be the toughest test yet for the host team.
Switzerland (0-3) has mustered one goal in three tournament games.
