Team USA men’s hockey is just one step away from advancing to the gold-medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. Quinn Hughes’ heroics saved the day during Wednesday’s quarterfinal, helping the Americans avoid a late collapse and setting up a semifinal against Slovakia.
Puck drop is scheduled for 3:10 p.m. ET on Friday, as the two teams battle it out for a spot in the gold medal game.
While Slovakia is home to just 5.45 million people, a population smaller than that of Minnesota, it cannot be overlooked. It has been one of the best teams so far at this tournament, knocking off Finland in the preliminary round and winning Group B.
Canada and Finland are in the semifinal on the other side of the bracket. Many North American hockey fans are hoping for another chapter in the storied Canada-United States rivalry, especially after the heated 4 Nations Face-Off final last spring.
For now, Team USA’s attention is focused solely on beating Slovakia. They’re large favorites on paper, but as many close matchups in the quarterfinal proved, that only matters so much. What your roster looks like on paper doesn’t count for anything once the puck drops.
The star American players have shown up thus far in the tournament. Jack Eichel has been great down the middle, Auston Matthews has been scoring while also being defensively responsible, and Hughes scored the clutch overtime goal against Sweden to make it this far. This is the best American hockey team ever assembled, and expectations remain high as they enter the last few games of this tournament.
Here are the top things to look out for in Friday’s semifinal.
Can Slovakia’s top players continue their great play against USA’s defence?
Slovakia might not be the country that comes to mind when you think of hockey starpower. However, their best players, such as Dalibor Dvorsky, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Simon Nemec, have been dominating the Olympics so far.
Slafkovsky, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, has three goals and seven points in just four games. He’s made progress at the NHL level this year and always plays his best when representing his country.
Dvorsky and Nemec have also been very good in this tournament. The trio of young players helped Slovakia dominate Germany 6-2 in the quarter-finals in the only game of that round that didn’t go to overtime.
The Slovaks’ talented trio haven’t faced a team as talented as this American group. It’ll be interesting to see if they can keep up their success.
USA has one of the best defenses in years
Team USA looks like a stout defensive machine right now, and it’s unclear if anyone will be able to break through against them. They only need just a few goals to have a great chance in any game because of their defense and goaltending.
The defense group is especially impressive. Hughes, Zach Werenski, Charlie McAvoy, Jaccob Slavin, and the rest of the blueliners have all been very good. It’s one of the best groups ever assembled on any team’s backend, and they’ve lived up to expectations thus far.
Hughes leads all defensemen at the Olympics with six points, and as a team, the Americans have allowed just six goals thus far, tied for the best with Finland and Canada.
Team USA has only allowed one goal in three of their four games, including every game regular starter Connor Hellebuyck has played in. All that remains to be seen is if they can ride their defense to the gold medal.
Will hockey fans get the matchup they want?
A Canada vs. US final would be the dream matchup for many hockey fans. The two countries just delivered an epic instant classic in the women’s final, and a possible battle between the men’s teams should be just as good.
The lack of best-on-best hockey over the past 12 years means the matchups between these two powerful nations have been far and few between. Still, the last couple of times they’ve played each other have delivered some all-time moments, including last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics gold medal game.
If the USA can beat Slovakia and Canada can beat Finland, hockey fans will be rewarded with another chapter in this incredible rivalry.
