USA units up date with Canada for gold medal after dominating Slovakia

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The free hen is flying excessive in Milan .

The USA males's Olympic hockey team dominated Slovakia from begin to end on Friday, successful 6-2 to arrange a gold medal recreation towards their archrival Canada.

Dylan Larkin received the scoring began early within the recreation, and Tage Thompson discovered the again of the online within the closing moments of the primary to place the Individuals up 2-0.

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United States’ Jack Hughes (86) celebrates after scoring his second objective of the sport towards Slovakia in the course of the second interval of a males’s ice hockey semifinal recreation on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 20, 2026. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Picture)

It was the second interval, although, that was dominant. Jack Hughes and Jack Eichel scored inside 19 seconds of one another, and Hughes scored once more in a while to make it a 5-0 recreation. Within the third, Brady Tkachuk added one other for good measure.

This would be the first time the Individuals will play for gold since 2010, once they misplaced an time beyond regulation heartbreaker to Canada in Vancouver. Canada, which has gained three gold medals in Olympics through which NHL gamers participated (1998-2014), clinched its spot within the gold medal recreation after preventing again from a 2-0 deficit towards Finland earlier Friday.

United States’ Jack Eichel (9) celebrates after scoring a objective towards Slovakia in the course of the second interval of a males’s ice hockey semifinal recreation on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 20, 2026. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Picture)

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Trying forward, the U.S.-Canada rivalry is one which, to place it bluntly, Canada has owned. This would be the eighth time the USA and Canada will play for Olympic gold, and the one time the Individuals gained was again in 1960. In addition they confronted off for gold in 1920, 1924, 1932, 1952, 2002 and 2010. In best-on-best format, the U.S. is 5-15-1, and three of these victories got here within the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

These two groups are already very aware of one another, as each rosters are largely composed of the identical members as final 12 months's 4 Nations Face-Off, the place three fights occurred within the first 9 seconds within the international locations' first best-on-best recreation in 9 years.

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Tensions between each groups and the followers have been sky-high in that event, because it was recent off President Donald Trump 's "51st state" feedback. Canada in the end gained the 4 Nations towards the U.S. in an time beyond regulation thriller.

However that is the true massive stage, and the Individuals are trying not just for revenge but in addition for bragging rights for 4 years.

United States’ Jack Eichel, middle, celebrates with Brock Faber (14) and Jaccob Slavin (74) after Eichel scored a objective towards Slovakia in the course of the second interval of a males’s ice hockey semifinal recreation on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on Feb. 20, 2026. (Carolyn Kaster/AP Picture)