from Adam Kimelman of NHL.com,

The United States used an early offensive explosion and outstanding play from goalie John Gibson to defeat Canada 5-1 in the semifinals at the 2013 IIHF World Junior Championship.

Jake McCabe had two goals and an assist and John Gaudreau had a pair of goals as the Americans advanced to Saturday's gold-medal game (8 a.m. ET, NHLN-US, TSN). They'll face the winner of the second semifinal, between Russia and Sweden.

The United States has won the gold medal just twice in WJC history, in 2004 and 2010.

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from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

First off, there are no excuses for Team Canada. This is a lockout year, so that means Canada had its absolute best players available and didn't get the job done. It's inconceivable that two years in a row they would lay an egg like they did in the semifinals, and this year was even worse because there was no glorious near-comeback.

So this one is on everybody, from head coach Steve Spott and his staff, to every man in the lineup. That certainly includes Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. He's the best junior age player world and he had a marvelous tournament prior to this game, but he didn't have it Thursday. Then there was the number one defence pair - Scott Harrington and Dougie Hamilton - on the ice for that first American goal. It looked like a fire drill. The defence was breaking down all over the place. Then there is Malcolm Subban, giving up four goals on 16 shots. Was he the only reason - no, not at all. The offence had so many shots and kept missing high and wide.

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added 10:22am, video highlights added...