Feb 20, 2026
3 min read
The USA men's ice hockey team beat Sweden 2-1 in overtime on Wednesday to advance to the semifinals against Canada, Finland and Slovakia on February 20.
Before the quarterfinals against Sweden, USA coach Mike Sullivan told the men's hockey team to make it "Game 7".
Even better than playoff hockey games – the USA beat Sweden 2-1 in an overtime thriller.
An exciting day of hockey all around, Wednesday marked the first time in Olympic quarter-final history that three-man hockey matches were decided in overtime.
USA And the first period was difficult for the Swedes. After 20 minutes, they were tied in almost every category with ten shots each.
Dylan Larkin gave the USA a 1-0 lead in the 2nd minute at the 11th minute.Larkin's goal became a regulated goal for the United States.
"We scored first and I thought we had the advantage of hitting shots and tiring them out," Larkin said after the game."But they pushed in the third [period] and got one late, but I felt we deserved to win and we did."
Es sah so aus, als würden die Vereinigten Staaten weiterhin glücklich ins Viertelfinale des olympischen Eishockeyturniers der Männer einziehen, doch der Schwede Mika Zibanejad hatte andere Pläne.With just over a minute and a half left in the third period, he scored a goal to send the game into overtime with a 1-1 tie.
"It was as scary as I used to be at golf," Larkin said.3-on-3 way to [overtime] It's a chance."Anyone can fall, puppies can slip, anything can happen, especially with the ice there."
The three-on-three overtime lasted less than four minutes, and it was 26-year-old Quinn Hughes who proved to be the overtime hero.
"I was very calm when I saw Quinn and I was glad we got this guy," Larkin said.
Hughes found the back of the net to keep Team USA's medal hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Sweden.The overtime winner was Hughes' first goal of the tournament and couldn't have come at a better time.
Hughes admitted afterwards that the game could have gone either way in the end.
"I was lucky. I kind of got the defenders in the position I wanted and I was able to shoot," he said."[Sweden] is one of the best countries in the world. They have superstars everywhere."
American goalie Connor Hellebuyck recorded 28 saves in the quarterfinal contest.
The United States advances to the semifinals on December 20 against Slovakia.
"It was a great hockey game and I couldn't be more proud of our guys," Sullivan said after the game."We will enjoy tonight and then turn our attention to Slovakia."
Canada 4, Czech Republic 3 (OT)
Canada beat the Czech Republic in a thrilling overtime to advance to the quarterfinals with a 4-3 victory.
After Canada trailed by a goal in the third period, Mitch Marner scored an overtime goal to keep Canada's medal hopes alive.
"[It's] adrenaline: believing in your skills makes you work harder all summer," Marner said after the win."Believe in yourself to make a play out there and I was lucky enough to score."
Canada advance to the semi-finals on February 20 against Finland.
Slovakia 6, Germany 2
Slovakia beat Germany 6-2 in the Olympic men's hockey quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Pavol Regenda, Milos Kelemen, Oliver Okuliar, Dalibor Dvorsky ۽ Tomas Tatar Slovak iron.
"We are happy, we are a great team from start to finish. Everyone works 200% every day and you can see it from there," Regenda said after the match.“We are happy to now be among the top four in the world,” he added.
Germany's Lukas Reichel and Frederik Tiffels scored twice as the team exited the tournament.
Slovakia will compete against the USA in the semi-final round on February 20.
Finland 3, Switzerland 2 (OT)
Finland survived overtime against Switzerland and advanced after winning 3-2.
Arturi Lehkonen scored in Finland's comeback win in overtime.
"It's unreal. It's always good to score goals, but when you score in overtime and in the Olympics, it feels even better," Raikkonen said after the game.
Finland will meet Canada in the semi-finals on February 20.
