GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – Canada advanced to the title game in the world junior championships for the fourth straight year, beating the Czech Republic 3-1 on Sunday.

Canada, seeking its first title since 1997, will face the winner of the second semifinal between the United States and Russia in the championship game Tuesday night. Last year in Finland, the United States beat Canada 4-3 in the final.

Jeff Carter opened the scoring for Canada in the first period, and Nigel Dawes and Patrice Bergeron added goals 2:42 apart in the second. Jeff Glass made 10 saves, allowing only Rostislav Olesz’s short-handed goal in the third period.

“It was a really solid game for us,” Canadian forward Clarke MacArthur said. “That’s the best kind of game we could have had for a semifinal game. We got tested.”

Canada is 5-0 in the tournament and has outscored its opponents 35-6.

“We knew this would be a tougher game where we would really have to compete and play hard in the trenches, creating shots in the trenches,” Canadian coach Brent Sutter said. “It wasn’t an easy game. Our defense continued to stay with it. Part of being a good defensive team is being a good puck-possession team, and we handled the puck well.”

In relegation play, Andrez Sekera and Peter Olvecky scored third-period goal to help Slovakia beat Belarus 2-1.

AP-ES-01-02-05 1950EST