MILAN — The puck left Quinn Hughes’ stick with blistering speed, steadily climbing as it got closer to the net. By the time it soared past Jacob Markström’s left glove, the American had his hands in the air and screamed out to the packed crowd at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.
His wrist shot in overtime sent the United States past Sweden 2-1 on Thursday to advance to the semifinals against Slovakia.
“It's just a relief,” Hughes told NBC News after the game. “I’m just really enjoying being here with the group and the guys and trying to extend it as long as we can.”
Hughes’ dramatic game-winner happened with 6:33 left in extra time. He was given the puck atop the left faceoff circle and looked for an open teammate but couldn’t find one. He then made a move toward the goal before he let the decisive shot fly.
“I just tried to create some space for myself and was able to get it to my forehand and get a shot off,” he said of the final play.
The win is a major confidence boost for the Americans, as the game was their toughest test in the tournament thus far. Sweden was one of three teams (along with the U.S. and Canada) made up entirely of NHL players.
The U.S. is now 4-0 in the tournament. A win in the semifinals Friday would guarantee a medal for the first time since the 2010 Winter Games, while a loss would mean a shot at the bronze. The Americans could still face rival Canada, who also won in overtime Wednesday, in the final.
Getting through the quarterfinals, however, wasn’t easy.
After a scoreless first period in which both Markström and Connor Hellebuyck of the U.S. made big saves, the Americans finally broke through in the second.
With 8:57 left, Jack Hughes fired a shot at goal from just inside the blue line. Dylan Larkin deflected the puck in midair past Markström for a 1-0 lead.
That goal appeared as if it might be the final tally of the night until Sweden pulled its goalie to gain a man advantage with just over one minute left in the game. Moments after Markström went to the bench, Lucas Raymond passed cross-ice to Mika Zibanejad, who one-timed it into the net.
Quinn Hughes came through in the clutch to keep the Americans’ gold medal hopes alive.
“I love the U.S.,” he said after the game. “It’s the greatest country in the world, so I’m happy to represent it here with these guys. It’s really special.”
Larkin said that the win was “great” but that he knows there’s a long road ahead before they can celebrate.
“It’s do or die, and Slovakia is playing well this tournament," Larkin said. "They are dangerous. They have some big players, and we got to be ready to go. We don’t want it to go to overtime, but if it does, we feel comfortable we have the players to take care of the task.”
