GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – Anton Khudobin helped Russia set up a title-game showdown with Canada in the world junior championships, making 22 saves in a 7-2 semifinal victory over the defending champion United States on Sunday night.

Canada beat the Czech Republic 3-1 in the first semifinal to advance to the championship game for the fourth straight year.

Russia’s Sergei Shirokov broke a 2-2 tie late in the first period, and Evgeni Malkin made it 4-2 midway through the third. Alexander Ovechkin, the top pick in the 2004 NHL draft, and Malkin added empty-net goals, and Mikhail Yunkov completed the scoring with a second left.

“It definitely wasn’t our best game tonight,” American Drew Stafford said. “For whatever reason, they had it and we didn’t.”

Enver Lisin and Ovechkin scored power-play goals in the first 5 minutes, but Robbie Schremp and Patrick O’Sullivan countered with power-play goals of their own to tie it.

The United States, which beat Russia 5-4 in round-robin play, will face the Czech Republic in the third-place game, to be played before the title game Tuesday.

In the first semifinal, 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.

“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, seeking its first title since 1997, is 5-0 in the tournament and has outscored its opponents 35-6.

“It wasn’t an easy game,” Canadian coach Brent Sutter said. “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-01-03-05 0006EST