Milan (Italy) (AFP) – Canada and the United States will face off in a blockbuster men’s ice hockey final after the two North American giants both got through Friday’s semi-finals with Finland and Slovakia to set up a gold medal showdown. Eyeing a record 10th Olympic title and the first since Sochi 2014, Canada cut it fine in booking their place in Sunday’s final with a last-gasp 3-2 win over reigning champions Finland.
And it will be the USA standing in their way following a much more straightforward 6-2 win over Slovakia at the Santagiulia Arena in Milan. Nathan MacKinnon slapped home the decisive goal with just 36 seconds remaining as Canada came back from two goals down to secure their spot in the final, with Sam Reinhart and Shea Theodore also scoring for the Canadians.
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“It’s everything,” MacKinnon said of the final against Canada’s neighbours. “It’s the gold medal at an Olympic Games. We are very lucky to be here and it’s a great opportunity. We have got to be ready.” Sunday’s showdown will be one of the last highlights of these Games before the closing ceremony in Verona, with both teams stacked with talent from the National Hockey League (NHL).
The USA men will hope to follow the example of the country’s women’s team, which won Olympic gold for the first time since 2018 when they beat the Canadians 2-1 on Thursday. Dylan Larkin, Tage Thompson, Jack Hughes — with a double — Jack Eichel, and Brady Tkachuk all scored as the USA put on a show of force against the Slovaks, who barely had a look-in all night in a contest that could be best described as one-way traffic.
“We know that we’re the two best teams and when we’re in the summer and we’re thinking, laying in bed, thinking about the Olympics, we know that we want it to be USA v Canada,” said Hughes to Eurosport.
– Sustainable Olympics –
International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry said she believes Milan-Cortina has shown that the Games could be held in a new, more sustainable way. Coventry, overseeing her first Games as IOC chief, expressed her belief that these Olympics, stretching over a vast area from Milan across the Italian Alps, had fulfilled organizers’ promises.
The 2026 Winter Olympics have utilized iconic alpine skiing venues in Bormio and Cortina d’Ampezzo, and organizers built relatively few venues compared to other Games. “These Games have been truly successful in a new way of doing things, a sustainable way of doing things in a way that I think many people thought maybe we couldn’t do… and it’s been done extremely well,” Coventry said in her end-of-Games press conference. “It surpassed everyone’s expectations and that’s what we need to take away from the Games.”
US freestyle skier Hunter Hess dismissed President Donald Trump calling him a “real loser” for saying he had mixed feelings about representing his country in the current political climate but failed to make a mark in the men’s halfpipe final won by his compatriot Alex Ferreira. Hess made an “L” sign on his forehead as he completed his first run in qualifying, but he only managed 10th place from 11 competitors in an error-strewn final.
“I sacrificed my entire life to make this moment happen,” he said after completing his second qualifying run. “I’m not going to let controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I cannot say that enough.”
Ferreira, who won halfpipe silver and bronze at previous Olympics, posted a winning score of 93.75 after a sublime effort on his third and final run of the competition. “They certainly didn’t give it to me easy,” said the 31-year-old. “I had to keep working. If they had given it to me in 2018, who knows if I would be here tonight. The universe has a weird way of working itself out.”
Ferreira dislodged Henry Sildaru from the top spot, but the Estonian’s silver was still his country’s first medal of the Milan-Cortina Games.
© 2024 AFP
