The final four is set at the 2016 World Hockey Championships.
The United States, Canada, Russia and Finland all advanced by way of their quarterfinal victories on Thursday -- a near identical scenario to last year’s semifinals, save Finland replacing the Czech Republic.
The U.S. will now play Canada on Saturday at the Ice Palace in Saint Petersburg, while Russia will take on the Finns at the same venue.
A rundown of today’s games:
U.S. 2, Czech Republic 1 (SO)
Auston Matthews provided the heroics, scoring the lone American goal in regulation before netting the shootout winner. Keith Kinkaid was terrific in goal, stopping 31 of 32 shots, as the U.S. scored the biggest upset victory of the quarterfinal round. The Czechs came into this game having captured Group A with an impressive 5-1-1-0 record, outscoring opponents 27-12 over that stretch.
The Americans, meanwhile, lost four games en route to finishing fourth in Group B.
Canada 6, Sweden 0
Canada rebounded from a disappointing 4-0 loss to Finland in their Group A finale to rout the Swedes. Six different players scored -- Matt Dumba, Max Domi, Derick Brassard, Mark Scheifele, Mark Stone and Brad Marchand -- while Cam Talbot kicked aside all 24 shots faced for the shutout.
Russia 4, Germany 1
The powerhouse host side proved too much for Germany and netminder Thomas Greiss. The Russians out-shot the Germans 37-20 and got goals from Alex Ovechkin, Yevgeni Dadonov and a pair from Vadim Shipachyov.
The Germans actually held a 1-0 lead at the end of the first period, only for Russia to score four unanswered.
Finland 5, Denmark 1
Finland remained undefeated at the worlds with an easy win over Denmark. Mikael Granlund led the way with two goals, while Jussi Jokinen, Jarno Koskiranta and Patrik Laine -- the projected No. 2 pick at this year’s draft -- added singles.
The Finns now have eight wins from eight games, have outscored opponents 34-7 and have emerged as the class of the tournament, setting up a tantalizing matchup with the host Russians on Saturday.