In a nail-biting quarterfinal match at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Mitch Marner scored the biggest goal of his international career, beating the overtime winner to send Team Canada to the semifinals with a dramatic 4-3 victory over the Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Connor McDavid noted that it is difficult to beat a team twice in a row, and the Czech Republic gave the Canadians all they could handle.
Canada trailed 3-2 late before a furious comeback, with Nick Suzuki nailing the equalizer to force OT. Then, at 8:38 of the extra frame, Marner buried it after a big stop by Jordan Binnington to keep the game tied.
This match was much closer than most expected. Head coach Jon Cooper often went to McDavid, MacKinnon and Celebrini, hoping to increase depth. It was that depth that won. First Suzuki, then Marner.
Suzuki was seen as the most likely logical healthy scratch by many analysts going into the game. Being a center player playing on the wing, he was not in his best position. But when Crosby went down, Suzuki was back in the middle, and it made a huge difference.
Elliotte Friedman called it the best hockey game he had ever seen and admitted that when the Czech Republic scored to take the lead, he thought Team Canada would lose. Having already lost Sidney Crosby in the match, it didn’t look promising. Kevin Bieksa called it the most stressful match ever and noted that Team Canada is top-heavy.
After the preliminary rounds and now this knockout match, Team Canada will advance to the semi-finals. They’re up against the US or Sweden.
Next: Olympics Could Erase Trade What-Ifs and Hellebuyck ‘Choker’ Tag
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