U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team Snags Win In Overtime Thriller

After a thrilling quarterfinal round, the U.S. men’s hockey team is now only two games away from clinching Olympic gold, something they have only done twice — and not since 1980.

The team secured the win over Sweden in an overtime nail-biter, eventually defeating them by a slim 2-1 when two-time all-star Quinn Hughes came through with the winning shot.

Despite a point-less first period, it seemed like the Americans were set for victory when Dylan Larkin scored in the second period with the help of Hughes and his brother Jack — coupled with unstoppable goaltending by Connor Hellebuyck. But confidence was crushed when Sweden’s Mika Zibanejad came through with a golden shot past Hellebuyck, tying the game 1-1 with just 91 seconds left on the clock.

Next up came the 3-on-3 “sudden death” round, where only ten minutes are given to score before moving to a shoot-out. Three and a half minutes into overtime, Hughes took a pass from his teammate Matt Boldy, delivered the game-winner, and became Team USA’s hero. It was his second point of the game, and sixth in the tournament.

Quinn Hughes sends the USA Men’s Olympic Hockey Team to the semi-finals against Slovakia with this OT winner!!! #USAHockey pic.twitter.com/KkvvAYFejQ

— Grand Canyon State Sports (@GCStateSports) February 18, 2026

The U.S.-Sweden match was just one of three that went into overtime competition today: Canada, who barely overtook the Czech Republic, and Finland, who also almost lost to Switzerland.

The team will compete against Slovakia, coming off a 6-2 win over Germany, in the semifinals on Friday afternoon. Canada will play the reigning Olympic gold champions, Finland. If the United States and Canada can both deliver in the semifinals, what a competitive rival match it will be on Sunday.

The U.S. women’s hockey team, who last won gold in the 2018 Winter Games, has had sweeping wins over its competition throughout the entire Olympic tournament and is set to take on Canada for another gold on Thursday.