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Buffalo, NY – The United States and Canada are set to do battle tonight in a rematch of last year’s gold medal game, which saw the U.S. prevail with a 6-5 overtime victory.  This time, however, it will be a semi-final matchup at 7:30 PM inside HSBC Arena.  The winner of the bout advances to go toe-to-toe with the winner of Sweden vs. Russia for the gold medal, whereas the loser will head to the bronze medal game.

[UPDATE] Jeremey Morin and Jason Zucker will be playing for the first time since Team USA's first game verus Finland.

Team USA enters action after completing the preliminary round with 3 regulation wins against Switzerland, Germany, and Slovakia to go along with an overtime victory over Finland.  This result was good for first place in Group A and gave the Americans an automatic berth to the Semi-finals.  The squad has yet to surrender a power-play goal thus far, spending a total of just 9:56 at a man disadvantage. 

The Americans are led offensively by Charlie Coyle, who has produced 2 goals and 4 assists, with Kyle Palmieri and Chris Kreider also contributing 2 goals apiece.  First-year skater Jon Merrill sits near the top amongst all defensemen in terms of point production with 4 (1G, 3A), while goaltender Jack Campbell has an impressive .957 Save Percentage and 1.03 Goals Against Average. 

Team Canada comes into tonight looking to advance to the gold medal game for the 10th straight year.  They finished the preliminary round as the 2nd seed in Group B with a record of 3 wins and a shootout loss, advancing to this point after defeating Switzerland 4-1 in the Quarterfinals.  Lighting the lamp in the contest were Ryan Johansen, Casey Cizikas, Zack Kassian, and Louis Leblanc.  Mark Visentin made 21 saves to pick up the win.   The Canadians currently possess the top ranked power play overall (9 for 20), as well as the best shooting percentage of all teams (15.38%).

Canada‘s lineup features 3 of the tournament’s top 5 scorers in Brayden Schenn (7G, 9A), Ryan Ellis (2G, 7A), and Johansen (2G, 6A).  Visentin and Olivier Roy have both seen a reasonable amount of time between the pipes, but Visentin has been better statistically, boasting a 1.00 Goals Against Average and a Save Percentage of .963.

Team USA could be without the services of forwards Jason Zucker (head) and Jeremy Morin (shoulder), both of whom have missed the last two games due to injury.  Meanwhile, Jaden Schwartz will not be in the lineup for Team Canada after suffering a fractured ankle in the December 28th contest against the Czech Republic.