OSTRAVA, Czech Republic – Montreal Canadiens prospect Cole Caufield scored in overtime to give the United States a 4-3 win over the Czech Republic on Monday at the world junior hockey championship.
With a win in their final preliminary-round game, the Americans ensured they will finish no worse than second in Group B.
If Canada loses to the Czech Republic on Tuesday, the U.S., will finish first.
Caufield, a first-round Habs pick this year (15th overall), scored his first of the tournament 3:14 into the five-minute, 3-on-3 overtime when he converted a pass from University of Wisconsin teammate Alex Turcotte.
Shane Pinto, Arthur Kaliyev and Jack Drury also scored for the Americans.
Libor Zabransky, with two, and Petr Cajka scored for the Czech Republic.
The Czechs were furious when they had a goal waved off for goaltender interference while trailing 3-2 in the third. However, the Americans were called for a penalty on the play and Cajka then scored on the power play to tie it.
The host team lost key forward Jan Jenik to injury late in the second. The Hamilton Bulldogs star went down clutching his right leg after a hit.
The Czechs got one point for the overtime loss, setting up a huge Russia-Germany game on Tuesday.
If Russia loses, it will be eliminated and head to the relegation round.
Germany would be eliminated with a regulation-time loss, but the Czech Republic’s result against Canada would come into play if the Germans take Russia to overtime.
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