Olympic men's hockey semi-final matchups and medal-game schedule are official
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Bruce Raymond
Feb 18, 2026 (7:03 PM)
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![[US, Mexico Canada customers only] Feb 18, 2026; Milan, Italy; Players of United States and Sweden shake hands after the match in a men's ice hockey quarterfinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/i/photo/643405.webp "[US, Mexico Canada customers only] Feb 18, 2026; Milan, Italy; Players of United States and Sweden shake hands after the match in a men's ice hockey quarterfinal during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.")
Photo credit: Marton Monus/Reuters via Imagn Images
Team Canada vs Finland is set, USA vs Slovakia is next, and the gold medal game time is locked, Olympic men’s hockey just got very real.
The Milano Cortina 2026 tournament officially has its semifinal matchups and medal-game schedule on the board.
On Friday, Team Canada draws Team Finland in the first semifinal, a heavyweight game that feels like it should be a final.
Later Friday, the United States meets Slovakia, and nobody in that American locker room will be treating it like a formality.
This is the cleanest kind of pressure, win and you play for gold, lose and you’re staring at bronze.
The official timing is tidy too, Canada vs Finland goes at 10:40 a.m., then USA vs Slovakia follows at 3:10 p.m.
Same building, same ice, no excuses about travel or weird back-to-backs.
Saturday’s bronze medal game is scheduled for 2:40 p.m., which is brutal motivation for whichever favorite slips on Friday.
Team Canada and the Finland test feels inevitable
You can already feel fans bracing for chaos, because one bad bounce on Friday can turn a gold dream into a long, quiet Saturday.
Canada’s path is clear, handle Finland’s structure, break their layers, and do not get impatient on the man advantage.
Finland loves to squeeze the middle, force low-percentage shots, and let the game drag into a goalie duel.
The U.S. game is different, more pace, more broken plays, and Slovakia has shown it can punish mistakes in a hurry.
If the Americans get loose on the blue line, Slovakia will live on counters and greasy rebounds.
Then Sunday arrives fast, the gold medal game is set for 8:10 a.m., and the whole tournament compresses into one last sixty-minute gut check.
Friday sets the story, Saturday stings somebody, and Sunday crowns the team that keeps its nerve when the rink gets loud.
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