What we're covering
• Men’s ice hockey semifinal: Team USA blew the game open over Slovakia with two quick goals. The US leads 5-0 heading into the third period. The winner will join the Canadians who advanced to the gold medal match after beating Finland earlier today with a dramatic go-ahead goal with only 35 seconds left in regulation.
• Freestyle ski glory: USA’s Alex Ferreira won the gold medal in men’s freeski halfpipe final after giving the best jump in his final run. Estonia’s Henry Sildaru secures silver and Canada’s Brendan Mackay earns bronze.
• Curling finals set: After today’s women’s semifinals, Sweden and Switzerland will meet in the gold medal game while the United States will play Canada for the bronze
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South Korea takes gold and silver in women's 1500m short-track speed skating final
South Korea’s Kim Gilli wins gold and the USA’s Corinne Stoddard earns a bronze medal in the women’s short-track speed skating 1500m race.
As these longer short-track races tend to go, it started slow and Stoddard led most of the way. But when things started to kick up, she made her charge and passed the American and her countrywoman Choi Minjeeong, including one incredible pass on the second turn of the penultimate lap.
Choi took silver while Stoddard’s third place finsh captured her first Olympic medal. It’s a great result for the American national champion in this race.
USA in total command after 2 periods
Just 20 minutes separate Team USA from a date with Canada in the gold medal men’s hockey game in the Milan on Sunday.
Jack Hughes added a fifth goal for the US with a slap shot from the left slot — his second goal of the day — giving the Americans as big of a lead as they’ve enjoyed these entire Games.
With a 5-0 lead, a shot at gold feels inevitable now for the US, who are seeking their first men’s ice hockey gold since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice.”
"We about done, dawg"
Upon finishing his recruiting pitch to high-school aged Kyle Lowry, a local coach asked if he had any questions.
Lowry, who has since won an NBA title and an Olympic medal, epically replied, “Yeah. We about done, dawg?”
In the epic words of Lowry, this game is just about “done, dawg.”
The US is putting the hammer to Slovakia, scoring 19 seconds apart to take a 4–0 lead.
USA strikes again (and again) to take 4-0 lead
Team USA is well on its way to the gold medal game after two goals in 19 seconds to take a commanding 4-0 lead.
First, Jack Hughes showcased his brilliance, side-stepping a Slovakian defender, then going top-shelf with a wrister over the shoulder of goaltender Samuel Hlavaj.
Moments later, Jack Eichel punched in a fourth American goal from point blank range, and Team USA fans could finally let out a sigh of relief.
Hlavaj angrily punches the glass of the bench area after being pulled from the game in favor of back-up goalie Stanislav Skorvanek.
USA leads 4-0 and is going on the power play once again.
Ontario will be ready for early puck drop
Important hockey news alert: Recognizing that the gold-medal game on Sunday begins at 8 a.m local time, Ontario premier Doug Ford has ensured that fans are properly ready.
He announced on his X account that bars across the province will be permitted to start selling alcohol at six in the morning.
“Let’s all come together, support local businesses and cheer on Team Canada!” he wrote
This is how you get re-elected.
Team USA continues to lead in penalty-filled 2nd period
The second period began with Slovakia trying to impose its will on the Americans, quickly leading to an American power play after a roughing penalty on Martin Fehervary.
The second period was filled with penalties early as both teams collected a pair, but neither could convert on its power play opportunities.
The US briefly appeared to have tallied a third goal, but it was waived off after the referee determined that Jake Guentzel had kicked the puck into the goal.
The tension is building in Milan, but Team USA maintains its 2-0 advantage.
Second period underway in Team USA's semifinal against Slovakia
The puck has dropped in the second period, with Team USA holding a 2-0 lead over Slovakia with a shot at the gold medal hanging in the balance.
The US is 40 minutes away from advancing to its first gold medal match since 2010. Slovakia has never reached the gold medal game.
The Dutch win a thrilling 5000m relay in short-track speed skating
The Netherlands just won the men’s 5000m relay short-track speed skating race and they are celebrating like you wouldn’t believe.
The South Korean team, which took silver, is similarly elated by their silver medal finish, which is less than one-hundredth of a second faster than the bronze-medal-winning Italians.
The race was thrilling until the very end, with the lead switching back and forth between the Dutch and the South Koreans with the Italians keeping pace. In the final two laps, the Dutch hit the after burners and pulled away for a decisive victory.
The chaos that is short-track speed skating thrills again!
First period observations: On pinnies, skating geese and a US lead
First period observations: we need pinnies.
Both Team USA and Slovakia are wearing blue pants and blue helmets. So the top and bottoms of their bodies are effectively the same. In between USA’s jersey go from white to blue, while Slovakia’s go blue to white.
This is too much and too difficult. Clearly we cannot change the country’s colors, and while we know this arena is brand new (and not even finished), someone surely must have a stack of pinnies around somewhere.
Also the coolest job here might be the ice-cleaner-uppers (they may have a more official name) who come out during breaks to make like a baseball ground crew and clear the ice. It’s not just that the job is cool; they start out in a choreographed V formation, kinda like skating geese.
No longer is Zamboni driver the best job in hockey.
Oh, and the US leads, 2-0, has already killed two power plays advantages, tossed 11 shots on goal to Slovakia’s eight, and Brady Tkachuk got in a little chippy action, and lost his helmet.
Alas he put it back on and it was still blue.
USA scores late to take 2-0 lead into the first intermission
Team USA seemed to have the initiative in this semifinal in the early going, but a pair of penalties stopped the momentum and put the American penalty kill to the test.
The Americans were up to the task both times, improving to a perfect 12-for-12 on penalty kills in these Olympics.
In the final minutes of the opening period, the Americas seemed to regain their footing, creating several chances that put the pressure on Slovakian goalie Samuel Hlavaj.
With just under a minute left of the clock, Slovakia’s Milos Kelemen was called for tripping to put the US on the power play.
Team USA wasted no time taking advantage, with a big slap shot from Tage Thompson that caromed off Hlavaj’s shoulder and into the net to double the American advantage.
USA leads 2-0 after the first period.
Oh, to be Jason Kelce
In my next life, I’d like to come back as Jason Kelce. Not the NFL offensive lineman part. That seems hard. The after-NFL life.
I could do that.
After Team USA scored, they cut to Kelce having a good time in the stands. Because that’s what he gets to do. Have a good team and cheer.
Swiss men's curlers win bronze after crunching Norway
The Swiss men’s curling team was upset in the semifinal round, but they will not be leaving Italy without a medal after crunching Norway in the bronze medal match.
The 9-1 stomping ends after nine ends because the Norwegians simply can’t come back from that deficit. An impressive performance by the dominant force in this tournament, even though this is not the medal they’d have been hoping for.
As they jump and celebrate on the ice, it doesn’t seem to disappoint them too much right now.
USA goes on top early with goal from Dylan Larkin
Less than five minutes into this semifinal, Team USA has taken the early lead in this men’s ice hockey game against Slovakia.
Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin was the goal scorer for the US, his second goal and third point of these Games. Zach Werenski provided the long outlet pass for Larkin to gather and then snap past Samuel Hlavaj.
Play has resumed in Milan and it feels like the physicality and intensity of the game has been turned up another notch.
Team USA is up 1-0 with 12 minutes to go in the opening period.
Play is underway in the USA - Slovakia men's hockey semifinal
The puck has dropped in the men’s semifinal hockey game between Team USA and Slovakia at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arenain Milan.
The Americans are wearing white sweaters with blue trim while the Slovakians are wearing a strikingly similar blue sweaters with white trim.
The winner will face Canada in the gold medal game on Sunday while the loser will face Finland in the bronze medal game on Saturday.
About to drop the puck at USA-Slovakia ice hockey tilt
Getting ready here for the second semifinal between Team USA and Slovakia. The stands are not as full (at least not yet) as they were for the Canada-Finland semifinal, but loud. I’d say it’s a pretty good split for support between the two fan bases, maybe offering a slight edge to the US.
Bronze medalists in Beijing, the Slovakians are making their first Olympic semifinal that includes NHL players. They are young - led by 21-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky, who plays for the Montreal Canadiens, and 20-year-old St. Louis Blues forward Dalibor Dvorsky - but that also means they get to play with house money.
The Americans have the pressure, not only loaded with NHL talent, but trying to complete the gold-medal dream match against Team Canada.
USA's Alex Ferreira wins gold in men's freeski halfpipe
Alex Ferreira wins gold in the men’s freeski halfpipe!
Estonia’s Henry Sildaru takes silver, and Canada’s Brendan Mackay takes bronze.
Nick Goepper and Birk Irving placed fourth and fifth, respectively. USA’s Hunter Hess came in tenth place.
USA's Nick Goepper falls hard in men's freeski halfpipe
Medics rushed to Nick Goepper after a hard fall in the men’s freeski halfpipe.
Goepper landed at the top of the halfpipe and slid down the wall.
After some hushed moments, Goepper is up and actually flashed smiles.
How?
Clearly, he is tough as nails.
Despite this, Goepper sits in bronze medal position after scoring high in his second run.
USA's Alex Ferreira is currently holding a gold medal position in men's freeski halfpipe final
Alex Ferreira scored 93.75 in the third run of the men’s freeski halfpipe final, popping him to the top of the leaderboard.
He overtook Estonia’s Henry Sildaru who slipped to the silver medal position, .75 points behind Ferreira.
This could change as there are two athletes still left to compete, including USA’s Nick Goepper.
Canadian fans are now Team Slovakia
Took a walk outside between games here. Spotted a man playing an accordion version of “All of You” and a man dressed as Santa singing along. Because why not?
Also of note: It would seem that while everyone would like the famed US-Canada gold-medal game, the Canadians also wouldn’t be disappointed if the Americans got left out.
Many exiting and victorious Canadian fans were very eager to encourage the Slovakian fans getting ready for their game against the United States. One woman yelled, ‘Go Slovakia,’’ as some wearing their team jerseys walked by and another Canadian gentleman warmly threw his arm around another Slovakian fan, wishing him good luck.
The doors are just opening here but the crowds were queuing up early. Expect another fun atmosphere for the nightcap semifinal.
This is it: final run of men's freeski halfpipe underway
New Zealand’s Ben Harrington is first up in the third and final run of the men’s freeski halfpipe.
Estonia’s 19-year-old Henry Sildaru currently sits in the lead, with Team USA in second, third and fourth places.
Remember, its each competitor’s best run that counts.
