Boston College’s Chris Kreider scored three times, one-quarter of a United States offensive barrage in a 12-1 victory over Latvia on Tuesday at the World Junior Championship.
The Americans moved to 3-0 in pool play and clinched a spot in the quarterfinals. They can earn a bye to the semifinals by beating host Canada in Thursday’s final round-robin game.
Wisconsin’s Derek Stepan added two goals and two assists, and Notre Dame’s Kyle Palmieri had four assists for the U.S., which outshot the Latvians 62-19.
North Dakota’s Danny Kristo scored 2:30 into the game, and the U.S. added five more goals before the end of the first period to leave little doubt about the outcome.
St. Cloud State goaltender Mike Lee made 18 saves in his second appearance of the tournament.
Janis Kalnins made 50 saves for Latvia, which has been outscored 36-4 in three losses in the tournament.
US vs. Latvia
Canada vs. Slovakia
