Zach Werenski and the United States are moving onto the semifinals of the Milano Cortina 2026 men’s hockey tournament after defeating Sweden 2-1 in a Feb. 18 quarterfinal decided by Quinn Hughes’ overtime goal.
A few hours after his Blue Jackets teammates returned to practice in Columbus, Werenski put three shots on goal in 17:45 of ice time to give the U.S. another steady game from its third defensive pairing. Hughes, who stars for the Minnesota Wild and is soaking up large minutes as the most-used defenseman, assisted on a goal by Dylan Larkin and netted the winner 3:27 into OT to eliminate Sweden.
It was the third straight quarterfinal to end in OT, following Canada’s 4-3 overtime victory against Czechia and Finland’s 3-2 overtime win against Switzerland.
Larkin, captain of the Detroit Red Wings, gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead midway through the second period with his first goal of the tournament. It nearly became the winner, but New York Rangers forward Mike Zibanejad tied it 1-1 for Sweden with 1:31 left in regulation, blasting a one-timer from the left circle past U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck on the short side.
Sweden’s net was empty with goalie Jacob Markstrom pulled for a 6-on-5 advantage that sent the game to OT. Werenski got a late look at Sweden’s net with 12 seconds remaining, but his shot sailed wide of the left post. That set the stage for Hughes’ OT heroics.
Next for the U.S., the No. 2 seed, is another challenging matchup against Slovakia on Feb. 20 in the semifinals, which won its group in the preliminary round and cruised past Germany 6-2 in the quarterfinal round. The game will be played at 3:10 p.m. ET on Feb. 20, following a semifinal pitting Canada and Finland.
Tight defense and the goalies created a low-scoring game through the first two periods, but the U.S. began to dominate puck possession in the second period.
After neither team scored in the first period, Larkin gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead with 8:57 left in the second by standing in front of Sweden’s net for a tip of Jack Hughes’ shot from the blue line that beat Markstrom.
Otherwise, Markstrom kept his team in the game while the U.S. outshot Sweden 19-8 in the period. Hellbuyck made saves on all 19 saves he faced in the first two periods, stopping 11 in the first and eight during a low-event second period in the U.S. zone.
Sweden played without Tampa Bay Lightning star defenseman Victor Hedman, who sustained an injury during the pregame warmup and opted to sit on the bench, in uniform, without playing. Hedman technically staying in the game without playing was a curious decision by Sweden, which could’ve replaced him with Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Werenski helps U.S. down Sweden in Milano Cortina 2026 quarterfinal
Reporting by Brian Hedger, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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