U.S. males’s hockey staff to face Slovakia for a spot in an Olympic gold medal match : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6271x4181+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6b%2F82%2F7c3901484665bc52162bdc2bd9ab%2Fgettyimages-2261832395.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6271x4181+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6b%2F82%2F7c3901484665bc52162bdc2bd9ab%2Fgettyimages-2261832395.jpg" class="img" alt="USA's #34 Auston Matthews celebrates after his team's second goal scored by USA's #43 Quinn Hughes at the end of the men's play-off quarter-final ice hockey match between USA and Sweden at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, on February 18, 2026. USA wins 2 - 1 against Sweden and qualifies for the semi-finals. (" fetchpriority="high"/> USA's #34 Auston Matthews celebrates after his staff's second purpose scored by USA's #43 Quinn Hughes on the finish of the lads's play-off quarter-final ice hockey match between USA and Sweden on the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Area through the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Video games in Milan, on February 18, 2026. USA wins 2 - 1 in opposition to Sweden and qualifies for the semi-finals. ( ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP conceal caption

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ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP MILAN — The U.S. males's hockey staff is about to face Slovakia within the Olympic semifinals Friday evening in Milan.

Irrespective of the end result Friday, the Individuals have already earned the possibility to play for a medal; a win will ship them by means of to the gold medal match on Sunday, whereas a loss will set them up for Saturday's bronze medal match.

The U.S. is in search of its first Olympic gold medal in males's ice hockey for the reason that famed "Miracle on Ice" staff in 1980, and its first medal of any colour since 2010, when the Individuals received silver after shedding to Canada within the last match.

That is the primary Olympic Video games since 2014 by which NHL gamers have been allowed to compete. Their participation has led to an exhilarating knockout spherical by which three of 4 quarterfinals went to extra time.

The U.S. roster consists solely of NHL gamers. Their appreciable star energy consists of the Toronto Maple Leafs middle Auston Matthews, final season's league-leading goaltender Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, and the Tkachuk brothers Matthew and Brady, wingers for the Florida Panthers and the Ottawa Senators, respectively. On Wednesday, the game-winning extra time purpose was scored by Quinn Hughes of the Minnesota Wild, who in 2024 was named the NHL's greatest defenseman.

Slovakia, in contrast, consists of solely seven NHL gamers (together with Juraj Slafkovsky, the fifth-leading factors scorer within the Olympic event.

In Friday's earlier semifinal match, Canada prevailed 3-2 over Finland after trailing early — however two targets within the third interval, first the equalizer by Shea Theodore, then the last-minute energy play game-winner by Nathan MacKinnon, gave Canadians a berth within the last and with it an opportunity to win their tenth all-time Olympic gold.

Canada, the favourite coming into the Olympics, have now struggled in two consecutive video games. First, within the quarterfinal, Czechia took a 3-2 lead with beneath 8 minutes to play within the third interval (on a controversial play which officers admitted ought to have been penalized for too many males on the ice).

Canadian captain Sidney Crosby, the two-time gold medalist in 2010 and 2014, was harm within the recreation in opposition to Czechia and missed all of Friday's recreation.