Mens Hockey Olympics: USA beats Slovakia 6–2, will face Canada for gold

In the mens hockey olympics, the United States dispatched Slovakia 6–2 in the semifinal Friday afternoon at Milano Santagiulia, punching its ticket to the gold-medal game against Canada on Sunday morning.

Mens Hockey Olympics semifinal: Hughes, Hellebuyck lead decisive win

Jack Hughes scored two goals on four shots and finished with a team-high +2 while taking no penalties as Team USA built a multi-goal lead in the semifinal played Friday, Feb. 20 at 3: 10 p. m. ET in Milan. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 of 24 shots; he surrendered two third-period goals to Juraj Slafkovsky and Pavol Regenda but added another strong performance to his tournament totals, having allowed five goals on 95 shots through the Games.

The victory followed a dramatic quarterfinal in which Quinn Hughes sent the United States past Sweden with an overtime goal, and it extended Team USA’s unbeaten run to 5–0 through five games. The Americans have outscored opponents 24–8 across matchups with Latvia, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and Slovakia.

What’s next: gold-medal showdown with Canada

With Friday’s 6–2 result, the United States will face Canada in the gold-medal game on Sunday, Feb. 22 at 8: 10 a. m. ET at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. Canada enters the final unbeaten as well and has outscored opponents 27–8 during the tournament, setting up a matchup between two teams that have dominated the men’s bracket.

The tournament’s other scheduled medal game is the bronze contest on Saturday, Feb. 21 at 2: 40 p. m. ET, and the first semifinal of the day featured Canada versus Finland at 10: 40 a. m. ET on Friday, Feb. 20. All remaining games are slated to be played at Milano Santagiulia in Milan.

Team USA’s next confirmed on-ice test is the gold-medal game Sunday morning at 8: 10 a. m. ET, when the winner of this semifinal run will be decided.