Quinn Hughes (Canton) scored at 3:27 of overtime to help the United States men’s hockey team reach the semifinals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics with a 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Sweden on Wednesday.
Hughes banked a wrist shot off the inside of the right post from above the hash marks to end the 3-on-3 overtime.
“We’ve got guys that have won (Stanley) Cups and gotten deep in the playoffs and superstars in the league, so I feel like it’s a resilient group and a lot of experience,” Hughes said. “We had an attack mindset in overtime.”
Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin (Waterford) also scored and Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Township) made 28 saves for the U.S., who will play Slovakia in the semifinals on Friday.
“They’ve (Slovakia) been rolling, they’re competitive, they’re fast,” Hughes said. “It doesn’t matter how many superstars you have and whatnot, it’s just the desperation level.”
Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond assisted on Mika Zibanejad’s tying goal with 1:31 left in regulation and Jacob Markstrom made 38 saves for Sweden, which finished 2-2 in Milan.
The U.S. took a 1-0 lead at 11:03 of the second period after Larkin, who has won 65 percent of his faceoffs in the offensive end, won a faceoff in the Swedish zone.
The puck went back to Quinn Hughes at the left point. He passed to his brother Jack Hughes (Canton) and Jack took a one-timer that was redirected into the net by Larkin stationed to the side of the crease.
Markstrom went to the bench for an extra skater with about 1:40 left in the third and Zibanejad scored a few seconds later on a pass from Raymond to tie it 1-1.
Raymond, third in Olympic scoring with nine points in six games, had a team-high six shots for Sweden.
Quinn Hughes led the U.S. with six shots and Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe) added three shot.
Sweden played without veteran defenseman Victor Hedman, who sustained a lower-body injury during warmups.
Canada and Finland will meet in Friday’s other semifinal. Canada scored a late goal in regulation before beating Czechia 4-3 in overtime in an earlier quarterfinal.
Finland then overcame a two-goal deficit late in regulation against Switzerland before winning 3-2 in overtime.
Canada 4, Czech Republic 3 (OT): Mitch Marner secured a place for Canada in the final four with an overtime goal that lifted the favorites past the Czech Republic, 4-3, in an Olympic ice hockey quarterfinal thriller on Wednesday.
The overwhelming pre-tournament favorites were down 2-3 late in the third period, when Nick Suzuki leveled it. Marner’s shot over the Czech goalie’s shoulder just 82 seconds into the nerve-searing extra session set off an ecstatic celebration through the Canadian fans at Santagiulia Arena.
The Czech team punched way above their weight class against the formidable cast of Canadian superstars but ran out of firepower in the final stretch of the fight.
“There were so many moments in that game that were huge for our team,” said Marner. “Some big plays in that game and luckily I was able to make one to just finish it.”
Canada will be re-seeded along with the other three semi-finalists, with the top seed playing the lowest surviving seed and the second and third seeds facing off on Friday. Slovakia booked their final-four slot earlier on Wednesday, dispatching Germany 6-2.
The one-two punch of Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini got the scoring started as the alternate captain connected with the 19-year-old forward on a beautiful backward pass. Celebrini sent the puck through the legs of Czech forward David Pastrnak and into the net.
The Czech team retaliated a little more than five minutes later. Defenceman Radko Gudas stripped the Canadians of the puck and fed it to Czech captain Roman Cervenka, who got it to the waiting stick of Lukas Sedlak for the goal.
Pastrnak’s slapshot on a power play put the Czech team up with little more than five minutes to go before the first intermission, as the Canadian team that had once appeared untouchable got their first real test of the tournament.
Canada lost their captain early in the second period, as Sidney Crosby went down injured after colliding with Gudas, but they fought on and got the opening they were looking for after Michal Kempny went to the penalty box for interference. Celebrini and McDavid set up Nathan MacKinnon for the power play equaliser.
The fight was far from over, however, as Martin Necas scooped up the puck and went streaking down the right side before flipping it to New York Islanders winger Ondrej Palat, who beat Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington.
Suzuki redirected a shot from Devon Toews to level it with less than four minutes left in regulation, and Marner, who regularly plays for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, sent the Canadian crowd into a frenzy with his kill shot to end the contest.
Canada coach Jon Cooper said it was too early to comment on Crosby’s condition.
“You rarely see it, for him something definitely went wrong,” said Cooper. “He just thought he wasn’t in a position to help the team for the rest of the night and we would reevaluate after that.”
Slovakia 6, Germany 2: Slovakia held off a late push from Germany, which rosters Red Wings defenseman Mortiz Seider, to keep their charmed Olympic ice hockey campaign on track, reaching the men’s semifinals in Milan.
The tournament darlings were a surprise group winner and maintained their run at Santagiulia arena as forward Pavol Regenda scored in the first and third periods, while forwards Milos Kelemen, Oliver Okuliar and Dalibor Dvorsky added goals in the second and captain and former Red Wing Tomas Tatar scored in the third.
The 2018 silver medallists Germany had cruised past France in the qualification playoff but faltered in attack and will leave the Games empty-handed.
“We were big underdogs, we were hoping to sneak into the quarterfinal and right now we are in the semis,” Slovakia head coach Vladimir Orszagh said.
“The guys are working hard every day and they know their priorities, why they are here.”
The 2022 bronze medallists Slovakia were considered dark horse candidates this time around as the NHL allowed their players to return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
They have rewarded their fans — among the most vocal across Milan — with a series of convincing wins and kept the party going on Wednesday as defenseman Erik Cernak rifled the puck from the blue line and Regenda tipped it in late in the first.
Kelemen cruised around a flailing German defender and flicked the puck into the top right corner of the net four minutes into the second period, and Okuliar beat the goalie to add another score 31 seconds later.
The Slovak fans breathed a sigh of relief as their tournament hero Juraj Slafkovsky returned to the ice after crashing awkwardly into the boards and Dvorsky added some insurance as he outfoxed the German defence.
German forward Lukas Reichel scored late in the second and the team put pressure on as they outshot Slovakia 13-12 in the third, but another score from Regenda put it completely out of reach and Tatar’s empty netter capped off Germany’s misery.
Finland 3, Switzerland 2 (OT): Defending Olympic champion Finland made a remarkable comeback to reach the semifinals on an overtime goal by Artturi Lehkonen.
The Finns trailed by two goals in the third period but tied the game with just over a minute in regulation.
“Unreal, I mean, it always feels good to score a goal in overtime, a little bit more in the Olympics,” Lehkonen said.
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: ‘Attack mindset’: U.S. advances to hockey semifinal on goals by Larkin, Hughes
Reporting by Detroit News staff and wires / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
