PARDUBICE, Czech Republic -- And I thought the traffic was bad in New York.

Last evening, during rush hour in the middle of nowhere (actually, somewhere between Prague and Pardubice), an accident on a snowy two-lane road stopped traffic for a solid hour.

Of course, being a New Yorker, I felt right at home. Or, more to the point, I felt like I was sitting in front of a blocked tube at the Lincoln Tunnel. In New York, however, I can always try an alternate route. On Czech Route 36, just outside of Rohovladova Bela, the only other route is to turn around.

To pass the time, I searched for an ESPN radio affiliate on the dial. (Todd Wright, AllNight in Czech?) No luck. Actually, no English, anywhere on the radio.

And to make matters worse, when the accident was finally cleared, I was stuck behind a bus and three plows for 20 minutes. The delay caused me and several NHL scouts and execs traveling to the game from Prague to miss most of the semifinal matchup between Canada and Switzerland at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

As it turned out, we didn't miss too much. The Canadians continued their mastery of the Swiss with a 4-0 win. Stars prospect Steve Ott (selected 25th overall in 2000) led the way for Team Canada, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist. Stopper Pascal Leclaire (the Blue Jackets' top pick and 8th overall in 2001) turned aside 35 shots to post his second shutout of the tournament. Afterwards, Canada coach Stan Butler named Leclaire his starting goaltender for the gold medal game.

The Canadians, who are seeking their first World Junior gold medal since their five-year championship reign ended in 1997, will face longtime rival Russia for the tournament title Friday. Russia won its last gold medal in 1999 -- an overtime win over a Roberto Luongo-backed Canadian team in Winnipeg.

The Russians earned their spot in this year's gold medal game by stunning Finland, 2-1, in overtime. And they did so without the services of Lightning prospect Alexander Svitov (3rd overall in 2001), who served the final game of his two-game suspension for punching a Swiss player in his country's final round-robin game.

The hotly contested tilt was decided just 1:44 into the 10-minute extra session when Avs prospect Sergei Soin (second round, 2000) deflected an Andrei Taratukhin pass/shot past Finn goalie Kari Lehtonen, who made several super saves throughout the game to get his team to overtime.

The Russians seemed fresh after their easy Tuesday afternoon win over Team USA, while the Finns, who barely scratched by the Czechs on Tuesday night, seemed to fade down the stretch. Team Finland, it seemed, was trying to force a shootout, which would've taken place if the teams had gone scoreless in the short overtime session.

As for Team USA, they advanced to Friday's fifth-place game (vs. Sweden) with a 4-3 win over a disappointing host team from the Czech Republic at nearby Hradec Kralove. The two-time defending champion Czechs have just one win in their six tournament games. They'll try to save face by whipping the rival Slovaks in the seventh-place game.

The gold medal game, which follows the bronze medal battle between Finland and Switzerland, starts at 8:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. ET). I think I'll leave a little earlier Friday … just in case.

E.J. Hradek writes puck for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at ej.hradek@espnmag.com.