Casey DeSmith blanks Czechia as undefeated US rolls to quarterfinal win at Men's Worlds

TAMPERE, Finland — Casey DeSmith stopped 15 shots and 19-year-old Cutter Gauthier scored his team-leading seventh goal of the tournament as the U.S. beat Czechia 3-0 in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday at the IIHF Men's World Championship.

Matt Coronato (Huntington, N.Y) of the Calgary Flames and Nick Perbix (Elk River, Minn.), the newly minted team rookie of the year for the Tampa Bay Lightning also scored for the U.S.

The Americans have not won this tournament since 1933 and their eight-game winning streak this time around is unprecedented for a U.S. team in this tournament.

Lehtikuva via Reuters

"We're as confident as we can be, but we know how hard a tournament it is to win in, how hard a tournament it is to medal in," U.S. captain Nick Bonino told USA Hockey after the game. "Whoever we get next is a semifinalist in a World Championship. So we'll focus on our game. We'll watch them and their tendencies a little bit, but the focus has been on us so far for eight games, and we'll keep it that way."

Gauthier, who scored 16 goals as part of his 37-point freshman campaign at Boston College, capped the scoring for the U.S.

Coronato's first-period goal was his second of the tournament. Perbix made it 2-0 when his wrist shot from the boards beat Czechia goaltender Karel Vejmelka following a faceoff.

The U.S. was playing without Michael Eyssimont, who was serving a one-game suspension after kneeing a Swedish player last game.

The Americans will play Saturday in the semifinals against Germany, a 3-1 winner over Switzerland.