BUFFALO, N.Y. - Canada and Sweden will face off for gold medal at the world junior hockey championship Friday night.
"I think it's the two best teams that are going to meet,'' Swedish goaltender Filip Gustavsson said.
Gustavsson made 29 saves and Sweden had a three-goal third period to beat the defending champion United States on Thursday in the first semifinal.
Drake Batherson had a hat trick to lead Canada over the Czech Republic 7-2 and into the title game for the third time in four years.
Canada and Sweden have played for the gold medal game three times before, in 1996, 2008 and 2009. The Canadians won all three contests.
With the expected No. 1 pick in this year's NHL draft, defenceman Rasmus Dahlin, and several other top prospects on the roster, the Swedes believe they have the talent to claim their first gold medal since 2012. Sweden finished fourth each of the last three years after finishing second in 2013 and 2014.
Sam Steel, Maxime Comtois, Jordan Kyrou and Boris Katchouk also had goals for Canada, which has won every game in dominating fashion aside from its 4-3 shootout loss to the U.S. in the preliminary round.
Canada came alive late in the first period after spotting the Czechs a 1-0 lead in the first six minutes. Steel and Batherson scored power-play goals to make it 2-1 by the end of the first.
The Canadians scored four times in a 10-minute span of the second period. Batherson, a fourth-round draft choice of the Ottawa Senators, scored his third goal to make it 6-1 with 3:02 remaining in the third and tie U.S. forward Kieffer Bellows and the Czech Republic's Filip Zardina for the tournament lead with seven goals.
Zardina, one of the top prospects eligible for this year's NHL draft, scored both goals for the Czech Republic.
After beating Canada in a shootout to win the gold medal last year, the U.S. will try for its sixth bronze medal against the Czechs on Friday. The Americans placed third in 1986, 1992, 2007, 2011 and 2016.
"The goal at the beginning of the tournament when everything starts is gold medal,'' Bellows said, who scored his tournament-leading seventh goal against Sweden. "But I know we have to push this behind us and get ready for the bronze medal game. We're doing this for the team in the locker room and USA Hockey as a whole.''
(Canadian Press)
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