Men's Olympic Ice Hockey
2026 Olympic
Hockey
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The United States is heavily favored to advance to the gold-medal game, but it can't overlook its opponent. Alexander Nemenov / Getty Images
The Athletic has live coverage of Canada vs. Finland and USA vs. Slovakia in the 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey semifinals.
The men’s Winter Olympics hockey tournament is reaching its final stages. On Wednesday, the number of remaining teams dwindled from eight to four, with the United States nearly joining those eliminated. Instead, a clutch overtime goal from Quinn Hughes lifted Team USA to a 2-1 victory over Sweden.
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Standing in the way of a presumed gold-medal matchup with rival Canada is a surprisingly stout Slovakia, the only team that made advancing look easy in the quarterfinals. While three out of four games were decided in overtime, the Slovaks routed Germany 6-2. The U.S. will need to be at its best to keep Slovakia from playing spoiler once more.
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Team USA was in command for the bulk of its quarterfinal matchup until Sweden’s Mika Zibanejad netted the equalizer with roughly a minute and a half to play in regulation. There was a collective sense of disbelief — the U.S. bench appeared stunned as Zibanejad skated by — but it held the line well into overtime, showcasing the exact kind of resolve necessary to survive such a comedown.
For Team USA, topping Slovakia will take more than leaning on its significant talent gap. The Slovaks are playing with confidence and momentum, both common traits of upset-minded underdogs.
Juraj Slafkovský has also been phenomenal, and some secondary talents rose to the occasion in the quarterfinals: Pavol Regenda scored two goals and assisted on another, and Dalibor Dvorský tallied one of each.
And while it’s true that Slovakia has yet to run into a team of the United States’ caliber in this tournament, it didn’t reach the semifinals by accident. If they aren’t able to overwhelm the Slovaks on offense, the Americans need a world-class effort from goalie Connor Hellebuyck to move one step closer to claiming their first gold medal since 1980.
All four remaining teams are guaranteed one more game. What happens next determines who goes for gold and who plays for the consolation prize.
All times below are ET.
Friday, Feb. 20
Saturday, Feb. 21
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Garrett Chorpenning is a freelance streaming editor for The Athletic. A graduate of Ball State University, Garrett got his start covering the LA Clippers for FanSided and later Sports Illustrated before becoming the Lead NBA Editor for The Game Day.
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