World Junior hockey 2013: USA beats Canada, will play for gold

The United States utterly dominated Canada in every facet of the hockey game Thursday morning, advancing to the gold medal game of the World Junior Championship with a 5-1 win over their rivals to the north. That is a rare sentence.

From start to finish, Team USA outplayed Canada in all three zones of the ice, leaning on a relentless forecheck, strong defensive coverage, great special teams and phenomenal goaltending from John Gibson en route to the victory.

Despite a rough first period, nobody doubted Team Canada’s ability to come out in the second period and erase a two-goal deficit. They’re the most talented offensive team in the 2013 World Junior Hockey Championship and they have an ability to score seemingly at will.

Canada simply can’t keep up with the Americans in any zone, and it’s going to take a big effort and a collapse by both Gibson and the USA defense in the third for them to escape this semifinal with a victory. Gibson and the USA defense, by the way, have yet to allow a goal in the medal round. 20 minutes to go.

That’s all changed in the first period of this semifinal matchup between the two nations Thursday morning, however. Perhaps the extra day of rest thanks to an earned bye through the quarters has left the Canadians a bit rusty, but their defensive coverage has been suspect and the Americans have taken full advantage.

All things considered, Canada just looks a step slower than the USA. When they gain possession, they’re having trouble with transition through the neutral zone, their passing isn’t crisp and they’re allowing the United States to walk all over them in the defensive end.