The men's hockey tournament at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics reaches the semifinals on Friday, with top-seeded Team Canada facing Team Finland and Team USA taking on Team Slovakia. Both games follow dramatic overtime quarterfinal victories, setting the stage for intense battles for gold medal spots. Winners advance to Sunday's final, while losers play for bronze on Saturday.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 men's hockey tournament has advanced to the semifinals after a thrilling quarterfinal round on Wednesday. Team Canada survived a 4-3 overtime win against Team Czechia, thanks to Mitch Marner's game-winner 22 seconds into overtime, following a key save by goaltender Jordan Binnington on Martin Necas's breakaway. Team USA edged Team Sweden 2-1 in overtime, with defenseman Quinn Hughes scoring the decisive goal after logging 27:31 of ice time.
Team Finland staged a comeback to defeat Team Switzerland 3-2 in overtime, highlighted by Artturi Lehkonen's winning goal after trailing by two. Team Slovakia secured a 6-2 victory over Team Germany, powered by Juraj Slafkovsky's seven points (three goals, four assists) in four games. Canada finished first in Group A with a 3-1-0-0 record, while Finland was second in Group B at 2-1-1-0. The USA topped Group C at 3-1-0-0, and Slovakia led Group B at 3-0-1-0.
NHL.com writers identified standout MVPs: Macklin Celebrini for Canada, with five goals and seven points as a 19-year-old rookie; Quinn Hughes for the USA, tying for the team lead with six points; Artturi Lehkonen for Finland, contributing five points and a plus-4 rating; and Juraj Slafkovsky for Slovakia, deemed the tournament's top performer by some. Binnington has excelled for Canada with a 1.65 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in three games, differing from his NHL season stats.
Predictions from NHL.com staff vary, with most favoring Canada over Finland and the USA over Slovakia, though some foresee upsets. "Canada's team defense will be tight," said one editor. Team USA's players described the Olympic village experience as intense, sharing spaces with eliminated teams like Sweden. The semifinals air at 10:40 a.m. ET (Canada-Finland) and 3:10 p.m. ET (USA-Slovakia) on Peacock, NBC, and other networks.
