When the NHL agreed to allow its players back in the Olympics a little over two years ago, the anticipation was a showdown between the United States and Canada. Now, on the 46th anniversary of the United States\u2019 victory over the Soviet Union, the Americans will play for gold against their now bitter rival.<\/p>\n
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest updates as Team USA takes on Slovakia in the men\u2019s ice hockey semifinals.<\/p>\n
\n![\"Chris](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771630993_624_dims.jpeg\"\/)
Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:41 PM PST\nChris Cwik<\/p>\n
For the first time since 2010, Team USA is moving on to the gold-medal game. The Americans secured their spot in the final with a dominant 6-2 win over Slovakia in the semis.<\/p>\n
With the win, Team USA will meet its rival Canada. The two met in the gold-medal game back in 2010, with Canada coming out on top. This time around, the U.S. will be looking for revenge.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:40 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
With the U.S. up 6-2, things got chippy at the end of the third period. Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk and Erik Cernak got into it, with punches being thrown.<\/p>\n
All three were assessed penalties that took them out for the rest of the game.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:33 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Brady Tkachuk put on a nasty move on a breakaway to put the U.S. up 6-1 in the semifinal.<\/p>\n
Slovakia quickly got that one back, scoring to make it 6-2, but Tkachuk\u2019s goal is worth replaying.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:28 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Slovakia is running out of time, but trying whatever it can to make this a game again. Pavol Regenda scored with under seven minutes to play, making it a 6-2 lead for Team USA.<\/p>\n
Slovakia will need four more quick scores to tie things up, but it was a start. The U.S. just needs to hold out for six more minutes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:26 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
It\u2019s officially a blowout in the semifinal. With under 10 minutes to go, the U.S. is up 6-1 after a score by Brady Tkachuk.<\/p>\n
The score pushed Team USA\u2019s lead back up to five goals, and killed any momentum Slovakia may have gained after their first score of the contest.<\/p>\n
Team USA just needs to avoid a massive collapse here and they\u2019ll move on to the gold-medal game.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:20 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Now this is the face of a man who is having a good time watching some hockey.<\/p>\n
Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce is enjoying himself cheering on Team USA.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:13 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Slovakia won\u2019t be shut out in the semifinal. After a misplay by Connor Hellebuyck behind the goal, Jurai Slafkovsky took advantage with a score.<\/p>\n
Slovakia still has work to do following the goal. They trail 5-1 with 14 minutes to play in the third period.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:08 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Team USA won\u2019t have Tage Thompson the rest of the way in the semifinal. Thompson was ruled out for the third period for \u201cprecautionary reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s not much information on a possible injury for Thompson. His status for a possible gold-medal game is unclear at the moment.<\/p>\n
His status should be addressed following the semifinal.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 2:06 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Just 20 minutes separate Team USA from a spot in the gold-medal game.<\/p>\n
The Americans lead 5-0 over Slovakia. The U.S. just needs to hold on a little longer in order to advance.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve played well in the contest, leading the way 26-13 in shots on goal.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:53 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Team USA has five goals in the semifinal and two have come from Jack Hughes. With another score, Hughes would have a hat trick.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how his second goal of the second period looked:<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:46 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
This is getting ugly. Team USA picked up another score in the second period, going up 5-0 heading into the third period.<\/p>\n
Slovakia will need one heck of a comeback in the third period to make this one interesting. After two goals in the first period, Team USA was even better in the second, picking up three more goals.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an opportunity for even more in the third period, as Team USA will have a power play to begin the period.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:41 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Slovakia is falling apart against Team USA. After changing goalies, Slovakia committed a cross-checking penalty, giving the Americans another power play.<\/p>\n
At 4-0, the game is quickly getting out of hand. Another goal could clinch a win for Team USA now. Time is quickly running out for a Slovakia comeback. There\u2019s roughly two minutes left in the second period.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:34 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
It took 19 seconds for Team USA to turn this game into a potential blowout.<\/p>\n
After a goal by Jack Hughes put the Americans up 3-0, Jack Eichel followed up with a goal of his own 19 seconds later. That put the U.S. up 4-0 with 7:27 to play.<\/p>\n
Slovakia decided to change its goalie with things looking grim.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:29 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
The U.S. nearly went up 3-0 against Slovakia in the second period, but officials spotted the puck was kicked in by a skate.<\/p>\n
Officials noticed the play immediately, and never signaled for a goal. A replay confirmed that call, keeping it 2-0 Team USA.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:24 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Team USA keeps committing penalties and then keeps killing Slovakia\u2019s power plays. Slovakia is now 0-for-3 in power play chances after the U.S. made it through another penalty unscathed.<\/p>\n
Now, the Americans will have a shot to play with an extra man. Martin Fehervary was called for a holding call, giving the U.S. two minutes to try and secure a third score.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:19 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Team USA and Slovakia fought through 4-on-4 play, with both teams failing to score. It was briefly back to 5-on-5 with roughly 14 minutes to go in the second period.<\/p>\n
But then Charlie McAvoy was called for high sticking, giving Slovakia yet another power play. Team USA has killed every Slovakia power play thus far, but can\u2019t keep playing a man down in the contest. It\u2019s only a matter of time before Slovakia capitalizes. Team USA will need to clean things up moving forward.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:12 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
A penalty by Auston Matthews will make it 4-on-4 hockey for the next minute or so. Matthews was called for hooking and will sit in the box for two minutes.<\/p>\n
His penalty came shortly after Slovakia was called for a roughing penalty. Once that penalty expires, Slovakia will have a brief power play before Matthews is allowed to return to the ice.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 1:10 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
More pushing and shoving from Team USA and Slovakia to start the second period. After a gathering near Slovakia\u2019s goal, Brady Tkachuk again got involved in a shoving match.<\/p>\n
This one resulted in a roughing call on Martin Fehervary, leaving to a power play for the Americans.<\/p>\n
Team USA already leads 2-0 in the second period. A score here would go a long way toward putting the Americans in strong position to advance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 12:55 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Tage Thompson elevated the puck for Team USA\u2019s second goal of the game.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how it looked in real time:<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Fri, February 20, 2026 at 12:50 PM PST\n
Chris Cwik<\/p>\n
Team USA picked up a power play and immediately capitalized. Shortly after Slovakia\u2019s Milos Kelemen was called for tripping, Tage Thompson of Team USA scored.<\/p>\n
The goal occurred with under a minute to play in the first period. Neither team scored the rest of the way, making it 2-0 after the first period.<\/p>\n
Team USA played well, scoring twice in the first period for the first time in the 2026 Olympics. The Americans outshot Slovakia 11-8 in the first period as well.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN \u2014 There\u2019s no need for any further debate over whether the U.S or Canada brought a stronger…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":604530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[10],"tags":[3115,72921,2147,142069,108086,32158,142067,260093,3261,250098,3777,188497,63256,50759,62,242599,260090,67,132,68,260091,260092],"class_list":["post-604529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-brady-tkachuk","tag-canada","tag-connor-hellebuyck","tag-dylan-larkin","tag-jack-eichel","tag-jack-hughes","tag-jt-miller","tag-matthew-tkachuk","tag-olympic-gold","tag-olympics","tag-quinn-hughes","tag-sidney-crosby","tag-slovakia","tag-sports","tag-tage-thompson","tag-the-north-american","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-xavier-laine","tag-zach-werenski"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116105617115321448","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=604529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/604529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/604530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=604529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=604529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=604529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}