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Heart rates soared in Milan and across the United States, but the Americans survived in their pursuit of men’s hockey gold.
The Minnesota Wild’s Quinn Hughes scored in overtime to give Team USA a gutsy 2-1 victory over Sweden on Wednesday, advancing them to the men’s Olympic hockey semifinals.
Both goalies pitched shutouts midway through the game, but with just under nine minutes left in the second period, Jack Hughes’ arm was deflected by Dylan Larkin, and slid in by Hughes’ New Jersey Devils teammate Jakob Markstrom to put the Stars and Stripes up 1-0.
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Quinn Hughes of Team USA celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in overtime during the men’s quarterfinal playoff game between the United States and Sweden on Day 12 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 18, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
The Swedes were very lively in the third period, while the Americans were somewhat neutralized. But they couldn’t put the puck in the back of the net, including a shot by Adrian Kempe that went off the post with 2:30 left.
Sweden pulled Markstrom with about 100 seconds left, and 10 seconds later, they finally scored when Mika Zibanejad snatched a Lucas Raymond one-timer to tie the game. Connor Hellyebuck had stopped 28 shots to that point, but the game went into a sudden 10-minute 3-on-3 overtime.
Quinn Hughes of the United States celebrates after scoring the winning goal against Sweden during overtime of a men’s ice hockey quarterfinal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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The United States failed to connect on its first five shots of overtime, but in the sixth, Hughes scored an inside post shot that crossed the line to give the Americans the victory.
The Americans will face Slovakia, while Canada, which narrowly escaped defeat by the Czech Republic on Thursday, will face Finland. Both Canada and Finland recovered from deficits to win in overtime.
Of the four games played on Thursday, three of them went to extra time.
Quinn Hughes of Team USA celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal in overtime during the men’s quarterfinal playoff game between the United States and Sweden on Day 12 of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 18, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
The semi-final round will be played on Friday, with times for each match to be announced. The winners of each game will return to work on Sunday, the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice,” for the gold medal game.
