from Mke G. Morreale of NHL.com,

The U.S. finished second after four preliminary-round games (3-0-1-0) in Group B at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre in Victoria and defeated Czech Republic 3-1 in the quarterfinal round. They will play against Russia in the semifinal round at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Friday (4 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

Longtime NCAA hockey analyst Dave Starman, who will handle the broadcast along with Stephen Nelson, will give his three keys to victory for the United States before each of its games during the 11-day tournament.

"Watching the tape on Russia of their past couple of games, you can make a case that they are a carbon copy of the U.S. in many ways," Starman said. "They're well-coached, up-tempo, skilled, have a dangerous top six, a defense that can go and good goaltending."

Here are Starman's three keys to success for the United States against Russia.

1. No leakers
From the net out, bad goals in single-elimination games are killers. Goalies get blamed for bad goals, but you can give up a good goal that is the result of leaky play leading up to it. Don't spend all game playing safe, but no drop passes to no one in the closing minute of a period, no individual high-risk play at the blue line, and no bad line changes that lead to free chances against. Play hard, smart, and together."

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