Men’s US Team

United States and Canada advance to the semifinals in the olympic games. Each needed extra hockey to advance to the quarterfinals.

Quinn Hughes scored in overtime as the United States beat Sweden 2-1 after allowing the tying goal to Mika Zibanejad with 91 seconds left in the third period. Dylan Larkin deviated Jack Hughes Shot for the only goal for the United States in regulation time.

Earlier Wednesday, Nick Suzuki equalized for Canada late in regulation against the Czech Republic, and Mitch Marner won 4-3 in overtime to avoid what would have been a surprising early exit.

“It was all relief,” Canada’s Macklin Celebrini said after scoring in the three minutes and then assisting Marner’s goal. “It sure took a load off our shoulders. Just seeing the puck go in, knowing we won the game… It was a good feeling for all of us.”

Finland also escaped an upset by coming from behind to beat Switzerland 3-2 in overtime. Sweden returns home early from a tournament that didn’t go as planned for a team with a full 25-player NHL roster, while upstart Slovakia is making another improbable run at the Games.

After Canada did its part, albeit with a rollercoaster of drama and emotion, the United States kept alive the possibility of the North American rivals meeting in the gold medal game on Sunday by taking advantage of the solid play of goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck to overcome Sweden.

The United States will face Slovakia in a semifinal on Friday night. Just before that, also undefeated Canada faces Finland in the other.

After losing captain Sidney Crosby to injury, Canada was staring down what would have been a surprising quarterfinal exit until Nick Suzuki tied it on a deflected goal with 3:27 left. Mitch Marner then scored just over a minute into overtime to beat Czechia 4-3 and send the tournament favorite to the semifinals.

“Everyone had complete faith in whoever was running over the boards,” coach Jon Cooper said. “I felt like it was just a matter of time. It was going to happen.”

The nerves were palpable when Canada fell behind with 7:42 remaining on Ondrej Palat’s goal on an odd run off a pass from Martin Necas. Replays showed Czechia had six skaters on the ice, something Nathan MacKinnon said he and his teammates knew, even if the officials on the ice didn’t realize it.

Suzuki nearly did it all on the tying goal, sending the puck to the point for Devon Toews and then redirecting the defenseman’s shot well away from Lukas Dostal and into the net.

“Toewser gave me a perfect opportunity to turn it around,” Suzuki said. “I’m just trying to put something on the net.”

Jordan Binnington denied David Pastrnak a breakaway with 70 seconds left to send the game beyond regulation. It was the biggest of Binnington’s 21 saves in an excellent performance by Canada’s starter.

Marner then produced more heroics playing for Canada, scoring his second overtime goal in an international tournament in as many opportunities. Marner also scored in similar fashion a year ago in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

“It’s the ‘it’ factor, man: Mitch Marner’s got it,” Cooper said. “He doesn’t disappoint. Sometimes your hair falls out, but in the end, he never disappoints.”

Like Canada, Finland was trailing at the end of its match against Switzerland. The Finns also got a late goal to avoid an unexpected defeat.

Miro Heiskanen tied the score with 72 seconds left, Artturi Lehkonen scored in overtime and Finland escaped with a 3-2 victory. Heiskanen’s shot bounced off Swiss defender Jonas Siegenthaler’s post and past goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni.

“We’re a relentless team,” Heiskanen said. “We never gave up. We know we had a rough start. It was a slow start, but we kept playing, we kept working and it paid off.”

In fact, Finland was down two goals after Switzerland’s Damien Riat and Nino Niederreiter scored 1 minute and 12 seconds apart in the first half. They went until 6:06 left before Sebastian Aho put Finland on the board.

Dalibor Dvorsky turned in another brilliant performance with a goal and an assist, fellow NHL forward Pavol Regenda scored twice as part of his three-point game, and Slovakia dominated Germany 6-2 to reach the semifinals and guarantee playing for a medal in Milan.

“Unbelievable,” said alternate captain Erik Cernak, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning. “Before the tournament, if we said we were going to make it to the semifinals, people would probably laugh at you. But we did it and it’s not finished yet.”

Slovakia suffered an injury in the second period when Montreal Canadiens rising star Juraj Slafkovsky, the 21-year-old reigning Olympic MVP, crashed head-first into the boards and was slow to get up. A trainer applied an ice pack to the back of Slafkovsky’s neck, and he held it over himself as he stood up to celebrate a goal scored while receiving medical attention.

“I’m fine,” Slafkovsky said. “I was a little shaken, but after a couple of minutes I felt fine again. I walked out and my head wasn’t spinning. I was seeing normally.”