MILAN — For five terrifying minutes on Wednesday night, the U.S. men's hockey team's dreams were one goal away from ending far sooner than they'd hoped.
Instead, the Americans will advance to the Olympic semifinals — and a guaranteed chance to play for what would be the team's first medal since 2010 — after winning an overtime thriller 2-1 in the quarterfinal game against Sweden.
"We got guys that have won [Stanley] Cups and gone deep in the playoffs and superstars in the league, so I feel like it's a resilient group and a lot of experience. You just pick yourself back up, get ready to go," said defenseman Quinn Hughes, who scored the game-winning goal 3:27 into extra time.
In the first three games in Milan, Team USA had scored five goals, then six goals, then five again. But on Wednesday, against a Swedish team that had fallen unexpectedly to the No. 7 seed after getting upset in the preliminary stage of the Olympic tournament, the Americans needed heroics on the defensive side to stay alive.
U.S. goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who last year was named the NHL's most valuable player, saved all but one of Sweden's 29 shots on goal. The one, though, came with just 91 seconds to play in regulation, on a one-timer from Sweden forward Mika Zibanejad from the faceoff circle to tie the game.
Then, a tense, fast-paced 3-on-3 overtime followed, ending with the sudden-death goal from Hughes past the outstretched glove of Sweden's goaltender, Jacob Markstrom.
Afterward, U.S. teammate Matthew Tkachuk said he wasn't sure at first if the puck had gone in or bounced off the post. "But once I heard the roar and [saw] him start to celebrate, it was definitely the highest I've jumped since my surgery," joked Tkachuk, who underwent an operation last summer to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia. "So I might have to get the foam roller out afterwards."
The Americans took a 1-0 lead in the second period when forward Dylan Larkin redirected a rocket from forward Jack Hughes (brother of teammate Quinn Hughes) over Markstrom's shoulder.
But Team USA failed to convert on multiple opportunities to pad that lead, leading to a tense third period as the Swedes mounted chance after chance before their late-game equalizer.
"That's what happens when you put two really good teams together. You think that it's going to be a high-flying offense, but it's actually quite the opposite," said winger Tkachuk. "It took one guy to make a play at the end, and that was Quinn."
The win means the U.S. men will have the chance to play for a medal no matter what happens in Friday's semifinal against Slovakia. A win will send the Americans through to the gold medal match on Sunday, while a loss would set them up for Saturday's bronze medal match.
"It's going to be a huge, huge test for us," said Tkachuk. "Their goalie's playing incredible. Our goalie is playing incredible. It's going to make for a hell of a semifinal."
Canada survives its own overtime game
On the other side of the bracket, Canada survived an upset bid by Czechia, who led 3-2 with less than 8 minutes to play in the third period. A loss would have been shocking; Canada's roster is stacked with most of the sport's best active players, from three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner Connor McDavid to the 19-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini.
"It's never fun, you know, six minutes left, them scoring a goal — but that's hockey. It's Olympic hockey," said Nathan MacKinnon. "We played a pretty solid game. It wasn't perfect, but good enough."
Team captain Sidney Crosby, who won Olympic gold in the 2010 and 2014 Olympics, left the game in the second period with a lower leg injury after a pair of tough collisions with Czech players. It was unclear if or when Crosby would return.
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