Montreal Canadiens junior Lane Hutson had three assists to help the United States beat Slovakia 10-2 in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Sunday.

American team captain Rutger McGroarty, a candidate for the Winnipeg Jets, scored a hat trick. Cutter Gauthier also collected three points with a goal and two assists. Isaac Howard scored a brace.

Hutson faced another Habs prospect, Filip Mesar, who in turn scored with a perfect shot.

Mesar also made Hutson look bad by stealing the puck from him in the second period.

With this victory, the USA secured first place in Group B. On Tuesday they will face the fourth team from Group A in the quarterfinals.

Finland surprises Sweden

Furthermore, Finland caused a major upset by inflicting Sweden's first defeat and first goals of the tournament, winning 5-4 on penalties. It was Jani Nyman who settled the debate in a shootout.

After three games, Sweden was unbeaten and had not conceded a single goal.

San Jose Sharks prospect Kasper Halttunen led the Finns with a goal and two assists.

The Czech Republic prevents the worst

Switzerland, for their part, made life difficult for the Czech Republic, but the Czechs recovered in the third period and escaped with a 4-2 win.

They were down two goals with less than six minutes left in the second period when goalkeeper Michael Hrabal allowed a poor goal from Simon Meier, allowing Switzerland to get back into the game.

Then, in the last minute of the game, the Czechs forgot Julien Rod at the gate. The former Drummondville Voltigeurs took advantage of the opportunity to draw.

Just over seven minutes before the end of the game, Buffalo Sabers junior Jiri Kulich scored the winning goal. With 13 goals in three tournaments, the striker became his country's top scorer in the competition's history.

His teammate Tomas Hamara added another goal moments later, confirming his team's victory.