MILAN — Zach Werenski and his U.S. teammates tried to not look forward at a possible gold medal game in opposition to Canada on the Olympics. After every went unbeaten in group play, there was no means the North American rivals might meet earlier than the ultimate, however there was work left to do.
After routing Slovakia 6-2 within the semifinals Friday evening, the much-anticipated however by no means assured U.S.-Canada showdown for gold is on.
“It’s the matchup everyone wanted,” Werenski mentioned after his three-assist efficiency in opposition to Slovakia. “Now that it’s finally here, we can kind of shift our focus to Canada.”
The two high seeds within the event, who went in because the favorites, will meet Sunday. It comes a 12 months after the U.S. and Canada performed two memorable video games in opposition to one another on the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“It’s the final that we wanted and the team that we wanted to play,” winger Matt Boldy mentioned. “It’s exciting for the fans and for hockey and everything like that.”
That NHL-run event ended a drought of nearly a decade without an international tournament featuring the best hockey players in the world. Three fights in the first nine seconds in the first meeting put the 4 Nations in the spotlight, and their epic final won by Canada in overtime only built the anticipation for the Olympics.
“Now that it is all set in stone, every part occurs for a cause,” mentioned Brady Tkachuk, who together with brother Matthew and J.T. Miller have been concerned within the 4 Nations fisticuffs. “We’ll be trying ahead to this one. You guys have been speaking about it for some time. Now, you get to take pleasure in it.”
The U.S. opened as a slight underdog against Canada in Sunday’s showdown. DraftKings Sportsbook installed Canada as the -125 favorite with the U.S. at +105.
After Canada did its part by rallying to beat Finland earlier in the day, the U.S. had no trouble against the Slovaks, who made an improbable run and were simply overmatched. They’ll face the Finns for bronze on Saturday night, looking for just the second hockey medal in the country’s history after getting the first with a third-place finish in Beijing in 2022.
The U.S. is playing for gold after the semifinals were a much easier test than against Sweden in the quarterfinals, when overtime was needed to survive a scare. Dylan Larkin, Tage Thompson, Jack Hughes and Jack Eichel scored the four goals on 23 shots that chased Samuel Hlavaj out of Slovakia’s net past the midway point of the second period.
Thompson, one of just a handful of newcomers who did not play at the 4 Nations, exited later in the second after blocking a shot and did not return. Coach Mike Sullivan said Thompson “was held out for precautionary causes greater than something.”
“We’ll see how he recovers, however I anticipate him being prepared for game time,” Sullivan said.
Hughes got his second goal of the game just after a power play expired, and Brady Tkachuk scored on a breakaway with just over nine minutes left to provide some more breathing room.
“That was undoubtedly one in all our strongest video games, for certain,” mentioned Quinn Hughes, who together with brother Jack have been the most effective U.S. gamers in Milan. “For essentially the most half, we performed very well. A little bit bit looser there within the third, however it’s a 5-0 game and also you wish to get out secure and really feel good for the subsequent game.”
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck did his job as his teammates outshot Slovakia by a substantial margin. Everything he has done at the Olympics has validated Sullivan’s decision to go with Hellebuyck as the U.S. starter over Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman.
The U.S. final reached the ultimate in 2010, when it misplaced to Canada in extra time on Sidney Crosby‘s famous golden goal. Crosby’s status is uncertain this time after getting injured in the quarterfinals Wednesday and not playing Friday against Finland.
The last U.S. men’s hockey gold came in 1980 with the “Miracle on Ice” in Lake Placid.
“It undoubtedly motivates us,” Werenski said. “We’ve talked about it. We’re nicely conscious of it. I do not suppose it is strain. It’s enjoyable. It’s thrilling.”
ESPN’s David Purdum and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
