United States 4, Czech Republic 1 — Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings) made 26 saves for the United States, which advanced to the World Juniors gold medal game for the second straight year.

The U.S. will seek a seventh tournament championship and a chance to win back-to-back titles for the first time when it plays Finland in the gold medal game at the Canadian Tire Center on Sunday (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

Finland scored a 4-3 overtime win over the USA in the preliminary round on December 29th.

“We talked about it (the possibility of winning in a row) at our first meeting in the summer, that our country has never done anything like this and that a lot is important to take advantage of this opportunity,” said U.S. coach David Carle. “So you start with the goal in mind and then you sort of build your process from there. Our guys believed and were on board the whole time and we just kept getting better. I think that’s what defines us the most. “Proud to put ourselves in this situation and we can put it all on the line (Sunday).

The United States is 15-3-1-8 with one draw against the Czech Republic in 28 games in the tournament. It extended its streak to 14 consecutive games at the World Juniors without losing in regulation time; The last regulation loss was in the semifinal round of the 2023 WJC.

Augustine became the career leader in wins at the World Juniors (11 wins), passing Jack Campbell (10 wins, 2010–12).

“It’s very special, just the whole list of goalkeepers that have played for our country,” Augustine said. “Of course I want to get another gold medal tomorrow and that’s what I’m concentrating on.”

Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals) and Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers) each scored a goal and an assist for the Americans.

“I don’t think we played nearly as well as we should have tonight,” Leonard said. “I guess we’ll save that for (Sunday). I felt like we were a little bit up and down and our team knows that. We just have to find a way to keep going at full throttle the whole game (against Finland).”

Michael Hrabal (Utah Hockey Club) made 21 saves for the Czech Republic, which faces Sweden in the bronze medal game at the Canadian Tire Center on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, TSN).

“I think the USA played a really strong game. “They didn’t really put us under too much pressure, but they played so smart and waited for their chances,” said Czech Republic coach Patrik Augusta. “They didn’t cheat and in the end we let them admit it. I think it was a close game 2-1 and I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t give ourselves a better chance to draw.” We made two mistakes in changes that probably shouldn’t happen in a big game like this, if you want to be successful.

Perreault gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead at 3:14 of the first period. Leonard picked up a puck along the right wing boards, ran it by a defenseman before making a pass through another defenseman from the right circle to Perreault in the slot for the one-touch goal.

“At first I wanted to support him, but then when I saw him come into his own, I went into the middle and knew he would find me,” Perreault said.

Jakub Stancl (St. Louis Blues) tied the game at 1-1 when he stole a clearance attempt from US defenseman Logan Hensler (eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft) at the left point, ran into the left circle and fired a shot into the extreme top corner shot at 9:28 of the first.

“I just read their defenseman’s forecheck and I picked up the puck and I just wanted to put it high in the net, so it came in,” Stancl said. “I think we had pretty good chances to score. Unfortunately it didn’t work out.”

Cole Eiserman (New York Islanders) gave the Americans a 2-1 lead with a power play goal off a pass from Trevor Connelly (Vegas Golden Knights) from the left circle at 13:41 of the second period.

Augustine’s best save came at 12:21 of the third period when he reached out with his right ball to deny Adam Jecho (St. Louis Blues) at the left post.

“It was just kind of a loose puck scrum in the corner that kind of popped out at the bottom of the point and the guy got a shot, not too hard, and kind of made it difficult to control the rebound,” Augustine said. “At the end of the day, I just try to get any part of my body in front of it to keep it away from the net.”

Leonard scored from the slot for a 3-1 lead after a pass from Perreault at 15:33 of the third period, and Oliver Moore scored an unanswered goal at 18:53 to make the final score 4-1.

“I enjoyed our second period, but we just couldn’t find a way to extend it,” Carle said. “We knew they would put pressure on us in the third period and they did. Trey was outstanding in the first 10 minutes of the third period before we got going again and it was a big relief (when Leonard scored) and you can see it all coming together.”

The United States has won medals at seven of the last nine World Junior Championships, the best stretch in the country’s history.