As the Olympic Games approach their conclusion, the ice hockey tournament is reaching its peak, with only four teams remaining in the race for medals in Milan. Slovakia will meet the United States in the semifinals, while Canada takes on Finland. Both games are scheduled for Friday (February 20), with Slovakia playing at 9:10 p.m. and the Canada–Finland matchup starting at 4:40 p.m. The matches will be broadcast live on :ŠPORT and streamed online.
Slovakia secured the first semifinal spot in a midday game, defeating Germany thanks largely to a dominant second period that gave them a 4–1 lead. They controlled the remainder of the game and cruised to a comfortable 6–2 victory. Canada, Finland, and the United States had a far tougher path to the medal round, each needing more than 60 minutes of regulation time to advance. Both Canada and Finland had to overcome unfavorable situations in the third period.
The Czechs took a 3–2 lead with eight minutes remaining through Ondřej Palát, but the goal should not have counted as they had six players on the ice. An international controversy was ultimately avoided when Nick Suzuki, teammate of Juraj Slafkovský in Montreal, equalized four minutes later, and Mitch Marner decided the game less than a minute into overtime.
Finland faced an even more difficult challenge, trailing 0–2 from the 16th until the 54th minute. Sebastian Aho scored to cut the deficit, and defenseman Miro Heiskanen tied the game with the goalie pulled, leaving just 1 minute and 12 seconds in regulation. No further goals were scored before overtime, where Artturi Lehkonen sealed the win after three and a half minutes.
The quarterfinal action concluded with an evening clash between the United States and Sweden, the lowest-scoring game of the round. Sweden forced overtime at 1–1 with an equalizer from Mika Zibanejad a minute and a half before the end of regulation. In overtime, Quinn Hughes secured the victory for the Americans.
The semifinal pairings were determined only after all quarterfinal games concluded, as matchups were based on seeding from the group stage. The highest-seeded team faced the lowest-seeded team, while the remaining two formed the other semifinal pair.
Source: STVR
