Nick Paul scored twice and added an assist as Canada defeated Slovakia 6-3 in quarterfinal action Thursday at the world hockey championship in Prague.
Jared McCann, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dylan Guenther and Brandon Tanev also scored for the defending champion Canadians.
Jordan Binnington made 18 saves for Canada.
Peter Cehlarik, Milos Kelemen and Marek Hrivik scored for the Slovaks, who made it close with two late goals before Paul scored his second of the game into an empty net.
Samuel Hlavaj was busy in Slovakia’s goal and made 37 saves.
Switzerland defeated Germany 3-1 in Thursday’s other quarterfinal. Sweden faced Finland and the United States took on host Czech Republic in later quarterfinals.
WATCH | Defending champion Canada advances to world hockey semifinals:
Dylan Guenther and Brandon Tanev scored 20 seconds apart in the third period as Canada beat Slovakia 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the IIHF world championship in Prague.
Bertschy-led Swiss take down Germans
Switzerland eliminated Germany in the other quarterfinal by edging last year’s runner-up 3-1 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Christoph Bertschy led the Swiss with two goals. He gave the Swiss a 1-0 lead with a short-handed goal before New Jersey Devils forward Nico Hischier added the second.
Dominik Kahun reduced the lead to 2-1 midway through the middle period on a power play before Bertschy added his second into an empty net in the third.
In the remaining quarterfinals later Thursday, the United States faces the Czechs in Prague, while Sweden plays Finland in Ostrava.