Olympic Men’s Hockey Day 3 Recap: Finland Rebounds, Canada Rolls, and Slovakia Stays Perfect
Day 3 of the Olympic men’s hockey tournament brought a full slate of action, with Groups A and B hitting the ice for their second games of the preliminary round. The intensity ratcheted up, rivalries flared, and the road to the quarterfinals got a little clearer - and a lot more dramatic. Let’s break down what went down in Milan.
🇫🇮 Finland 4, 🇸🇪 Sweden 1
Anytime Finland and Sweden face off, you know you’re getting a game steeped in history - and usually, some fireworks. Finland came in needing a response after a tough loss to Slovakia, and they delivered.
Swedish netminder Filip Gustavsson was looking to steady the ship after a rocky opening performance, but it didn’t take long for Finland to test him. Nikolas Matinpalo opened the scoring on Finland’s second shot of the game, and Anton Lundell doubled the lead before the first intermission.
Sweden got a spark early in the second when Rasmus Dahlin cashed in on the power play to make it 2-1. But just as the Swedes seemed to be building momentum, Finland hit back - and in style. Joel Armia pounced on a loose puck during a Swedish power play and went upstairs with a slick finish to notch a shorthanded goal that made it 3-1.
From there, Finland clamped down. Juuse Saros was rock solid between the pipes, turning aside 34 shots and erasing any hope of a Swedish comeback. Mikko Rantanen iced it with an empty-netter in the third, giving Finland its first win of the tournament and a much-needed confidence boost.
🇸🇰 Slovakia 3, 🇮🇹 Italy 2
Slovakia continued its strong start to the tournament, improving to 2-0 in Group B with a gritty win over Italy - but it didn’t come easy.
After a scoreless first, Slovakia broke through on the power play when Libor Hudacek’s cross-ice pass deflected off an Italian defender and in. Matus Sukel added another later in the period, cleaning up a bouncing puck in front to make it 2-0.
Italy, to its credit, didn’t go quietly. Phil Pietroniro rang a shot off the crossbar, and Matt Bradley was right there to bury the rebound, cutting the lead in half before the second intermission.
The third period brought more adversity for Italy. Starting goalie Davide Fadani had to exit with 10 minutes left, forcing Damian Clara - who was injured in the opener - back into the net.
He was thrown into the fire immediately, entering during a penalty kill, and held strong at first. But just after the power play ended, Adam Ruzicka restored Slovakia’s two-goal cushion.
Italy made one last push with the extra attacker, and Dustin Gazley made it a one-goal game again. But a costly delay-of-game penalty in the final minutes took the wind out of Italy’s sails, and Slovakia held on.
One name to keep an eye on: Martin Pospisil. The Flames forward logged over 14 minutes and registered a shot on goal. More importantly, he played his usual physical game without taking penalties - a good sign for a player known to toe that line.
🇨🇿 Czechia 6, 🇫🇷 France 3
This one had all the makings of a routine Czech win - and then France flipped the script, at least for a little while.
Czechia came out firing, with Martin Necas scoring on the power play and Michal Kempny adding another at even strength to take a 2-0 lead into the first break. But the second period was anything but routine.
France stormed out of the gate with three goals in the opening six minutes of the second, stunning Czechia and forcing Dan Vladar into action. The former Flames goalie hadn’t seen much ice to that point, but suddenly he was under siege.
Czechia answered back with sustained pressure, and David Pastrnak tied it up with a tight-angle snipe that squeaked between the post and the goalie.
Then came the turning point. France got a late power play but botched a line change after a Czech clear. That mistake led to a 3-on-0 rush the other way - and Czechia made no mistake, reclaiming the lead with a shorthanded dagger.
The third period was all Czechia. Filip Chlapik and Roman Cervenka scored early to put the game out of reach, and the 6-3 scoreline held.
🇨🇦 Canada 4, 🇨🇭 Switzerland 1
This one had a big-game feel, and for good reason. Both Canada and Switzerland came in off shutout wins, and Switzerland’s NHL-heavy roster made them a legitimate threat.
But Canada wasted no time asserting control. Five minutes in, a Swiss penalty gave Canada its first power play - and you just can’t give this group that kind of opportunity. Nathan MacKinnon zipped a cross-ice feed to Connor McDavid, who buried it with authority.
Minutes later, Tom Wilson dropped the puck to McDavid on the rush, and McDavid fed Thomas Harley, who slipped it five-hole to make it 2-0.
Switzerland answered on the power play when Sven Andrighetto’s shot took a wild bounce off Logan Thompson and the crossbar, landing perfectly for Pius Suter to tap in. That made it 2-1 after one.
Looking for more offensive punch, Canadian head coach John Cooper made a bold move between periods, putting MacKinnon on McDavid’s wing with Macklin Celebrini. The line clicked immediately. Just over four minutes into the second, MacKinnon found Celebrini in the slot for his second goal of the tournament.
Sidney Crosby added a third-period insurance marker to seal it, and Canada moved to 2-0 in group play.
The only dark cloud came late in the third, when Tom Wilson and Kevin Fiala collided awkwardly. Fiala appeared to suffer a serious leg injury and had to be stretchered off.
There was no intent to injure - just a tough, unfortunate moment in a hard-fought game. Here’s hoping for a speedy recovery.
What’s Next
Group A - Feb. 15
- 🇨🇭 Switzerland vs. 🇨🇿 Czechia
- 🇨🇦 Canada vs. 🇫🇷 France
Group B - Feb. 14
- 🇸🇪 Sweden vs. 🇸🇰 Slovakia
- 🇫🇮 Finland vs. 🇮🇹 Italy
With Slovakia still unbeaten and Canada looking like a well-oiled machine, the final games of group play are setting up to be appointment viewing. Buckle up - the knockout rounds are just around the corner.