Men's World

HELSINKI – Team USA captain Paul Stastny (St. Louis, Mo./Colorado Avalanche/Univ. of Denver) notched four points (2-2) and Craig Smith (Madison, Wis./Nashville Predators/Univ. of Wisconsin) had five assists to lead the U.S. Men’s National Team to an 8-3 victory over Russia here today in the quarterfinal round of the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Men’s World Championship.

In the semifinals, the U.S. will face Switzerland at 1 p.m. EDT on Saturday (May 18.).

Team USA struck first when Smith spun off the end boards and found Stastny open in front for his fifth goal of the tournament at 11:53. Fifty seconds later, T.J. Oshie (Warroad, Minn./St. Louis Blues/Univ. of North Dakota) fired a shot through goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov from the right faceoff dot, making it 2-0. Tim Stapleton (La Grange, Ill./Dynamo Minsk/Univ. of Minnesota Duluth) stole the puck in the neutral zone to setup Oshie.

Russia's Alexander Svitov scored on a line rush at 15:30, cutting USA's lead to 2-1.

Nate Thompson (Anchorage, Alaska/Tampa Bay Lightning) reestablished USA’s two-goal lead 5:45 into the second stanza. In transition, Thompson beat two defenders to the edge of the Russian crease and slipped a crossing feed from Ryan Carter (White Bear Lake, Minn./New Jersey Devils/Minnesota State Univ. Mankato) between Bryzgalov’s legs.

Unchecked in front of the net, Alex Galchenyuk (Milwaukee, Wis./Montreal Canadiens) received a pass from Smith, deked left and calmly slid a backhand shot inside the right post at 17:31. Stastny started the play by forcing a turnover inside the Russian blue line and sending the puck to Smith in the right circle.

Russia and USA combined for three goals in a span of 2:07 early in the third period. Alexander Ovechkin put a shot under the cross bar from the right side at 1:33. Carter answered for Team USA with a shorthanded goal that beat Semyon Varlamov five-hole at 2:55. Alexander Perezhogin trimmed the U.S. lead to 5-3 with a power-play tally at 3:40.

Team USA responded with a three-goal flurry during the middle of the frame to pull away. Jacob Trouba (Rochester, Mich./Winnipeg Jets/Univ. of Michigan) scored on the power play at 8:11, David Moss (Livonia, Mich./Phoenix Coyotes/Univ. of Michigan) tallied at 9:56 and 11 seconds later Stastny notched his second goal of the day.

Goaltender John Gibson (Pittsburgh, Pa./Anaheim Ducks) won his third game in as many starts by making 31 saves.

Scoring By Period

First Period – Scoring: 1, USA, Stastny (Smith, Hunwick), 11:53; 2, USA, Oshie (Stapleton), 12:43; RUS, Svitov (Soin, Tyutin), 15:30. Penalties: USA, Stastny (hooking), 19:18.

Second Period – Scoring: 4, USA, Thompson (Carter), 5:45; 5, USA, Galchenyuk (Smith, Stastny), 17:31. Penalties: RUS, Medvedev (interference), 11:20; USA, Palushaj (hooking), 14:25.

Third Period – Scoring: 6, RUS, Ovechkin (Varlamov), 1:33; 7, USA, Carter (unassisted), 2:55 (sh); 8, RUS, Perezhogin (Popov, Ovechkin), 3:40 (pp); 9, USA, Trouba (Smith, Stastny), 8:11 (pp); 10, USA, Moss (Smith), 9:56; 11, USA, Stastny (Smith, C. Butler), 10:07. Penalties: USA, Gionta (roughing), 2:04; RUS, Tyutin (high-sticking), 7:49; USA, Stapleton (holding), 12:45.

Power Play: RUS, 1-4; USA, 1-2
Penalties: RUS, 2-4; USA, 4-8