After a thrilling quarterfinal round, the U.S. men’s hockey team is now only two games away from capturing Olympic gold — something they have only done twice — and not since 1980.
The team secured the win over Sweden in an overtime nail-biter, eventually defeating them by a slim 2-1 when two-time all-star Quinn Hughes came through with the winning shot.
Despite a scoreless first period, it seemed like the Americans seized control when Dylan Larkin scored in the second period with the assists of Hughes and his brother Jack — coupled with unstoppable goaltending by Connor Hellebuyck. But with just 91 seconds left on the clock, Sweden’s Mika Zibanejad beat Hellebuyck to tie the game.
The teams then went to 3-on-3 sudden death overtime, where only ten minutes are given to score before moving to a shootout. Three and a half minutes into overtime, Hughes took a pass from his teammate Matt Boldy, ripped home the game-winner, and became Team USA’s hero. It marked his second point of the game, and sixth in the tournament.
Quinn Hughes sends the USA Men’s Olympic Hockey Team to the semi-finals against Slovakia with this OT winner!!! #USAHockey pic.twitter.com/KkvvAYFejQ
— Grand Canyon State Sports (@GCStateSports) February 18, 2026
The U.S.-Sweden match was just one of three quarterfinals that required overtime today, as Canada barely overtook the Czech Republic, and Finland also almost lost to Switzerland.
Team USA will compete against Slovakia, coming off a 6-2 win over Germany, in the semifinals on Friday afternoon. Canada will play the reigning Olympic gold champions, Finland. If the United States and Canada can both deliver in the semifinals, what a competitive rival match it will be on Sunday.
On the women’s side, the U.S. team — who last won gold in the 2018 Winter Games — has had sweeping wins over its competition throughout the entire Olympic tournament and is set to take on Canada for another gold on Thursday.
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