U.S. Whips Another At World Cup

Keith Tkachuk scored three goals and the United States continued its impressive run in the World Cup of Hockey with a 9-3 victory over Slovakia on Tuesday night.

The win completed a three-game sweep in the preliminary round of the North American pool for the Americans, who earlier beat Canada and Russia, and pointed them toward the semifinals of the eight-team tournament.

The United States, which actually clinched the semifinal berth with Monday night’s 5-2 victory over Russia, will next meet the winner of Friday night’s quarterfinal game between Russia and Finland.

Sweden, which finished first in the European pool with a 3-0 record, will play in the other semifinal against the winner of Thursday night’s Canada-Germany game.

Slovakia (0-3), which had already been knocked out of contention along with the Czech Republic, was pretty much overwhelmed by the Americans, as they were in a 9-2 exhibition loss to the United States 10 days ago.

Tkachuk, a forward with the Phoenix Coyotes, tied the game with a one-timer from the slot at 5:50 with the Americans holding a two-man advantage. Edmonton’s Doug Weight then put the United States ahead with a sharply angled shot that capped a rush at 7:13, also on a power play.

Philadelphia’s John LeClair made it 3-1 when he flipped in a rebound at 13:34 on the first even-strength goal of the first period.