Canada Prevails in Quarterfinals with Olympic Agony
With time against them and Canada at a disadvantage against the Czech Republic in an elimination game at the Olympics, the tension gripped even the most experienced players, with gold medals and Stanley Cup rings. The pressure was evident in every play.Following captain Sidney Crosby’s injury, Canada faced a possible and shocking elimination in the quarterfinals, until Nick Suzuki managed to tie the score with a deflected goal with 3:27 remaining. Mitch Marner sealed the victory with an overtime goal, defeating the Czech Republic with a score of 4-3 on Wednesday, thus securing their place in the semifinals.“I never doubted, but the situation was getting a little stressful,” commented defenseman Drew Doughty.
Drew Doughty
“Everyone had complete faith in whoever was going out on the ice,” said coach Jon Cooper. “We felt it was a matter of time. We knew it was going to happen.”
Jon Cooper
Jordan Binnington stopped a David Pastrnak attempt on a breakaway with 70 seconds remaining, taking the game to regulation time. It was the highlight of Binnington’s 21 saves, in an excellent performance. Marner, for his part, demonstrated his ability for crucial moments by scoring his second overtime goal in an international tournament.“Toewser gave me the perfect opportunity to deflect the puck,” Suzuki said. “I just tried to put something on net.”
Nick Suzuki
Canada will face Finland in the semi-finals on Friday. The United States, which defeated Sweden in overtime, will play against Slovakia in the other semi-final.“It’s the ‘x’ factor, Mitch Marner has it,” Cooper said. “He doesn’t disappoint. Sometimes he gives you a hard time, but in the end, he never disappoints.”
Jon Cooper
Other Quarterfinal Results
Finland 3, Switzerland 2 (OT): Similar to Canada, Finland found themselves trailing against Switzerland, but managed a late goal to avoid a surprise defeat. Miro Heiskanen tied the score with 72 seconds remaining, and Artturi Lehkonen scored in overtime, securing the 3-2 victory. Heiskanen’s shot deflected off the stick of Swiss defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler and went into the net.
Finland was down by two goals after goals by Damien Riat and Nino Niederreiter in the first period. Sebastian Aho scored for Finland with 6:06 remaining. Finland advances to face Canada in Friday’s semi-finals.Slovakia 6, Germany 2: Dalibor Dvorsky had another brilliant performance with a goal and an assist, and Pavol Regenda scored two goals. Slovakia dominated Germany 6-2 on Wednesday, securing their place in the semifinals and guaranteeing a medal.“We are a relentless team,” Heiskanen said. “We never give up. We knew we had a difficult start. It was slow, but we kept playing, kept working, and it paid off.”
Miro Heiskanen
Slovakia suffered a scare in the second period when Juraj Slafkovsky crashed into the boards. Slafkovsky, the reigning Olympic MVP, recovered and celebrated a goal for his team.“Incredible,” said captain Erik Cernak. “Before the tournament, if we had said we were going to reach the semi-finals, people would probably have laughed. But we did it, and it’s not over yet.”
Erik Cernak
Slafkovsky assisted on Tomas Tatar’s goal, and was excited about his teammates’ performance.“I’m fine,” Slafkovsky said. “I was a little shaken up, but after a couple of minutes I felt fine again. I went out and my head wasn’t spinning. I was seeing normally.”
Juraj Slafkovsky
Slovakia will face the United States in Friday’s semi-final.“We were saying, ‘It doesn’t matter who’s going to score’,” Slafkovsky said. “We just need that extra goal.”
Juraj Slafkovsky
