Usa Mens Hockey Next Game: U.S. Draws Slovakia After Quarterfinal Overtime Thrillers
The USA mens hockey next game will be a semifinal against Slovakia after the United States needed overtime heroics in the quarterfinals, with a berth in Sunday’s gold-medal game on the line.
Usa Mens Hockey Next Game
The U. S. and Canada each advanced through dramatic quarterfinals that required overtime, setting up two high-stakes semifinals: Canada vs. Finland and the United States vs. Slovakia for the right to play for gold on Sunday. The quarterfinal wins left both North American powers with clear paths forward but no guarantees, as the tournament’s single-elimination format turns each semifinal into a one-game test of execution and composure.
Canada vs. Finland at Santagiulia Arena
The Canada–Finland semifinal is scheduled for Friday at Santagiulia Arena, with puck drop listed at 10: 40 a. m. ET and television windows including Peacock, USA [JIP], ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC, SN [JIP], and RDS2. Finland will ice several Florida Panthers players — Niko Mikkola, Anton Lundell and Eetu Luostarinen — who bring big-game experience to the Olympic ice, while Canada will feature Panthers forwards Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand on the other bench.
Anton Lundell captured how professional ties dissolve for the Olympics: "We're brothers. We've been playing for years together... But this is a different mindset. Now we're enemies. " Lundell said that when the teams meet at Santagiulia Arena on Friday. Mikkola joined the Panthers in the 2023-24 season, and Marchand was traded to Florida last March; several of the players have been part of Stanley Cup Final runs in recent seasons, with Mikkola noted for back-to-back Cup wins and Marchand part of last season's championship roster.
What to watch from the U. S. side
The United States’ next game is against Slovakia, and it comes after an overtime quarterfinal that demonstrated how unpredictable these knockout matchups can be. As the tournament has shown, "nothing is a given" in a winner-takes-all semifinal, so the U. S. will need the same late-game resolve that carried it through the quarters to reach Sunday’s gold-medal game.
For fans tracking the USA mens hockey next game, the immediate stakes are clear: win the semifinal against Slovakia and advance to play for Olympic gold on Sunday. The semifinal pairings — Canada vs. Finland at Santagiulia Arena on Friday at 10: 40 a. m. ET and the United States vs. Slovakia — set up two matchups where single plays and goaltending will decide who reaches the championship.
What happens next is straightforward and confirmed: the two semifinals will determine the finalists for Sunday’s gold-medal game. The Canada–Finland game at Santagiulia Arena on Friday at 10: 40 a. m. ET is on the schedule, and the winners of that game and the United States–Slovakia semifinal will meet for the gold medal on Sunday.
