Olympics

If the United States women's hockey team can get to the gold medal game at the 2022 Winter Olympics, there's a good chance it will take on Canada. That would be an opportunity for the Americans to avenge their lone loss of the Winter Games to this point.

However, in order for Team USA to get that opportunity, it needs to win one more game.

The U.S. is set to take on Finland in the semifinals of the women's hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics in Beijing on Monday. One of those two teams will advance to face the winner of the other semifinal matchup, which will feature Canada and Switzerland.

Here's a look at the schedule for the semifinals, along with everything else you need to know about the matchup between the United States and Finland.

Women's Hockey Semifinals Schedule

Sunday, Feb. 13

Canada vs. Switzerland, 11:10 p.m. ET, USA Network

Monday, Feb. 14

United States vs. Finland, 8:10 a.m. ET, USA Network

Games can be streamed live on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.

Preview

This won't be the first time that the United States and Finland will face off since arriving in Beijing. Both teams were part of Group A, so they went head-to-head during the preliminary round. And things went in the Americans' favor in that previous matchup.

In its opening game of the 2022 Winter Olympics on Feb. 3, the United States notched a 5-2 victory over Finland. The U.S. led 4-0 after two periods, as Kendall Coyne Schofield scored a pair of goals in the second period to put the game out of reach.

It was a strong showing for the Americans, who outshot Finland 52-12, as they set the tone for what has been a solid run in Beijing to this point.

After going 2-1 in the preliminary round, the United States took on the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. Although the Americans trailed 1-0 early in the second period, they scored four unanswered goals to secure a 4-1 victory. Lee Stecklein scored the first of three third-period goals for Team USA.

"Obviously in a close game like that to get the next goal to go ahead is huge," said Kelly Pannek, who assisted Stecklein's go-ahead goal, per Phil Helsel of NBC News. "To be able to kind of get that a little earlier in the third period definitely let us play a little more free."

While the United States faced a bit of a test in its quarterfinal matchup, Finland had no trouble reaching this point. It cruised to a 7-1 victory over Japan to advance to the semifinals.

The winner of the United States-Finland matchup will be assured of winning at least the silver medal, while the loser will head to the bronze medal game to take on the loser of the other semifinal game. Although the winner will have an opportunity to play for the gold, a challenging matchup against Canada likely awaits.

The Canadians appear to be the favorites to win the gold, as they've won each of their first five games at the Winter Olympics. They've outscored their opponents 44-5, and they're the only team that has defeated the U.S., as they beat the Americans 4-2 in the preliminary round.

In the quarterfinals, Canada had a dominant showing, notching an 11-0 victory over Sweden. Now, it will face Switzerland, which it already defeated 12-1 in its opening contest of the Winter Games.

If the United States and Canada both advance, it will mark the fourth straight Winter Olympics in which the two countries have faced off for the gold. The Americans won in 2018, marking the first time they had captured the gold since 1998, the first year that women's hockey was included at the Winter Games.

Before the U.S. beat Canada in 2018, it defeated Finland 5-0 in the semifinals. So the Americans will be looking to repeat history as they try to end up atop the medal stand again this year in Beijing.  

Marco Odermatt has been the king of the men's giant slalom discipline all winter long. 

The Swiss skier has a chance to turn his dominance in the event into a gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics over two runs on Friday night and Saturday morning. 

Odermatt leads the giant slalom World Cup standings by over 200 points over Austria's Manuel Feller. Odermatt has won four of the five events on the World Cup circuit. 

All of the other competitors in the giant slalom will be chasing the 24-year-old over the course of two runs. 

Feller and France's Alexis Pintarault are among the top contenders to take down Odermatt, or land on the medal podium alongside him. 

Men's Giant Slalom Info

Run 1: Saturday, February 12 at 9:15 p.m. ET (NBC)

Run 2: Sunday, February 13 at 12:45 a.m. ET (NBC)

Event can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com and Peacock.

Preview

Marco Odermatt should be the overwhelming favorite to capture the men's giant slalom gold medal. 

Odermatt leads the FIS World Cup standings in the event. The 24-year-old is also the overall leader in the World Cup. He is second in the Super-G and fourth in the downhill.

Odermatt started his Olympic program with a seventh-place finish in the downhill, and he did not finish in the Super-G competition. 

The Swiss favorite captured four of the five giant slalom events and the last two events that took place on the circuit. 

Manuel Feller, who is second in the event's World Cup standings, was the most-recent second-place finisher to Odermatt on January 8 in Adelboden, Switzerland. 

Feller also owns a pair of third-place finishes from the World Cup season. He should be viewed as the second favorite to win gold and a likely podium finisher. 

Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen is the only skier not named Odermatt to win a giant slalom race this season. He captured the first of two runs in Alta Badia, Italy in December. He took silver at the Pyeongchang Games behind Marcel Hirscher. 

Alexis Pintarault of France is the only other athlete to medal twice on the World Cup circuit. He won bronze in the last two Olympic giant slalom events. 

One of the medal favorites will go down as the newest Olympic champion in the giant slalom, as Hirscher retired from the sport in 2019.

Odermatt will try to bring home the first Swiss gold in the event since Carlo Janka won in Vancouver in 2010. Switzerland has four all-time golds in the event, which is one behind Austria.  

The United States is the first-ever Olympic gold medalist in mixed team snowboard cross.

The pair of Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner defeated two Italian teams and Canada in the final of Friday's event at the 2022 Beijing Games. Canada won the bronze, while the Italian pair of Michela Moioli and Omar Visintin won silver.

Jacobellis caught Moioli in the stretch run of the final race to win the United States' fifth gold in dramatic fashion.

This was the Olympic debut for the mixed team snowboard cross, which used a bracket-style format starting with four quarterfinal heats. The top two finishers in each quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals, and the top two finishers in each semifinal advanced to the big final, which determined the medals.

NBC Olympics' Liam Nee explained the format of each race, noting "Men go first, and once a team's male athlete has crossed the finish, the start gate opens for his female teammate. The women's outcome determines the result."

The biggest storyline from an American perspective was Jacobellis' attempt to win a second gold in Beijing after taking home the United States' first gold medal of the Games in the women's individual event.

She paired with a two-time world medalist in Baumgartner on one American team, while four-time Olympian Faye Gulini and 2018 junior world champion Jake Vedder made up the other.

Everyone figured to be chasing Italy with 2018 individual gold medalist Moioli and 2022 individual bronze medalist Visintin.

That Italian team had no trouble advancing by winning the first quarterfinal run, while Jacobellis' squad won the second quarterfinal. Unfortunately for the Americans, Gulini and Vedder were eliminated in the third one, which the athletes of the Russian Olympic Committee won. Great Britain won the fourth one.

To the surprise of nobody, Moioli's Italian team and Jacobellis' American squad reached the final. They were joined by the other Italian team of Lorenzo Sommariva and Caterina Carpano and Canada's pair of Eliot Grondin and Meryeta Odine in the final.

It was fitting that the Italians and Americans squared off for gold with Baumgartner staking his teammate to a narrow lead. Jacobellis temporarily lost that lead but was able to come back in the second half of the course to take home another gold.

The U.S. Center for SafeSport, which is in charge of investigating allegations of sexual misconduct for sports under the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee's jurisdiction, reportedly reported USA Hockey for allegedly interfering with an investigation.

Katie Strang of The Athletic reported as much and noted the U.S. Center for SafeSport is legally required to report any potential interference in an investigation to Congress within 72 hours.

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher and president Mike Trimboli a letter Friday that concerned its "cooperation" and "compliance" with an investigation.

According to Strang, "it is not immediately clear the nature of the investigation being conducted by the U.S. Center for SafeSport."

Strang also pointed out USA Hockey has been criticized of late for how it has responded to allegations of sexual misconduct, including when the organization's former president, Jim Smith, allegedly mishandled allegations against former Chicago-area youth and college hockey coach Thomas Adrahtas.

Smith did not run for reelection even though SafeSport closed the investigation.

While that investigation was closed, USA Hockey remains a co-defendant in another federal lawsuit that was brought by victims of Adrahtas in May 2021. That lawsuit alleged Smith and USA Hockey did not properly report the allegations against Adrahtas.        

The United States and Canada continued their collision course toward the gold-medal game in women's hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing on Friday, while the preliminary round in men's hockey carried on as well.

Team USA came back from a 1-0 deficit in the women's quarterfinals to beat Czech Republic 4-1, and Canada crushed Sweden 11-0 to punch its ticket to the semifinals.

Four traditional powers were victorious on the men's side, with the Russian Olympic Committee, Czech Republic, Sweden and Finland all picking up wins.

Here are all of Friday's scores in Olympic men's and women's hockey, as well as a recap of each game.

Men's Preliminary Results

Russian Olympic Committee def. Denmark; 2-0

Czech Republic def. Switzerland; 2-1

Sweden def. Slovakia; 4-1

Finland def. Latvia; 3-1

Women's Quarterfinal Results

United States def. Czech Republic; 4-1

Canada def. Sweden; 11-0

Men's Preliminary Recap

Russian Olympic Committee 2, Denmark 0

The Russian Olympic Committee hasn't been as dominant as expected at the Olympics thus far, but it improved to a 2-0 record in the men's preliminary round with a 2-0 win over upstart Denmark on Friday.

Since no NHL players are competing in the Olympics for the second Winter Games in a row, ROC entered as the favorites, as they are stacked with KHL players and won gold four years ago in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

ROC followed up a 1-0 win over Switzerland in its opener with a 2-0 win Friday, giving it two consecutive shutouts to start the tournament.

While the scoring has been there for Russia, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Ivan Fedotov has been a stud in goal, stopping all 49 of the shots he has faced:

Pavel Karnaukhov's second-period goal was the only one ROC needed since Denmark couldn't solve Fedotov, although Kirill Semyonov did add an empty netter for good measure.

Although it fell just short, Denmark impressed again considering it is making its Olympic debut in men's hockey.

The Danes still have a chance to do some damage in the tournament, as they are 1-1 after beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in their opener.

Czech Republic 2, Switzerland 1

After a hugely disappointing loss to Denmark to start the Olympics, the Czech Republic got back on track Friday, edging out Switzerland 2-1 in a shootout.

The teams were tied 1-1 after regulation, as Jiri Smejkal scored for the Czechs in the first period, and Switzerland's Gaetan Haas answered about four minutes later.

After neither team managed to score in overtime, the game went to a shootout, and a former NHL star came through for the Czech Republic.

Simon Hrubec stopped all five of Switzerland's shootout attempts, while longtime Boston Bruins center and one-time Stanley Cup champion David Krejci was the only goal scorer for the Czechs.

Krejci, who is now playing professionally in his native Czech Republic, prevented the Czechs from falling to a devastating 0-2 start to the tournament, while Switzerland has now lost each of its first two games.

Sweden 4, Slovakia 1

Sweden jumped out to a fast start and never looked back, as it beat Slovakia 4-1 and improved to 2-0 in preliminary round play.

The Swedes scored three goals in the opening period, beating goalie Matej Tomek each time. Joakim Nordstrom opened the scoring, followed by Lucas Wallmark.

The true backbreaker for Slovakia came in the waning seconds of the second period, though, when Max Friberg scored with just five seconds remaining in the period to make it 3-0.

Carl Klingberg extended the lead to 4-0 in the third period, and while 2022 NHL draft prospect Juraj Slafkovsky got Slovakia on the board with less than two minutes left in the game, the damage had already been done.

The Slafkovsky goal spoiled a remarkable performance by Swedish goalie Magnus Hellberg, who stopped 40 of Slovakia's 41 shots on goal.

Slovakia actually managed to outshoot Sweden 41-29, but the Slovaks fell to 0-2 on the tournament, and Sweden set the stage for an undefeated clash with rival Finland to close out the preliminary round.

Finland 3, Latvia 1

Latvia hung tough with a hockey power for the second game in a row, but it was unable to pull off the upset against Finland.

After a narrow 3-2 loss to Sweden in its opener, Latvia fell 3-1 to Finland in a game that was tied at 1-1 deep into the third period.

Given how gritty Latvia was against Finland and Sweden, Steven Ellis of The Hockey News suggested the team could still be a tough out in the knockout stage even after starting 0-2:

Following a second-period goal by Finland's Valtteri Kemilainen to make it 1-0, Latvia answered three minutes into the third with a goal from Rodrigo Abols.

The game seemed destined for overtime, but Finland finally broke the deadlock with about five minutes remaining when former Toronto Maple Leafs winger Leo Komarov found the back of the net.

Marko Anttila then scored the insurance goal with just over a minute left to seal the deal for Finland.

Sweden and Finland were considered the co-favorites in Group C entering the tournament, and they will now do battle to determine the group winner as expected.

Women's Quarterfinal Recap

United States 4, Czech Republic 1

Team USA entered its quarterfinal matchup with the Czech Republic as a heavy favorite, but it wasn't until the third period that the Americans took their first lead of the game.

The Czechs didn't have a single shot on goal in the entire first period, but they shocked the Americans on their second shot of the game in the second period when Michaela Pejzlova put a rebound past Team USA goaltender Alex Cavallini.

That created some nervous moments for the United States, but the equalizer was scored just 48 seconds later by Hilary Knight:

Despite being expected to win in blowout fashion, Team USA entered the third period tied 1-1 and didn't pull ahead until there was 13:11 remaining in regulation, which is when Lee Stecklein put the Americans up for good:

Savannah Harmon and Kendall Coyne Schofield netted insurance markers later in the period, making the final score 4-1.

Team USA dominated the game with 59 shots to just six for the Czechs, but they once again struggled to find the back of the net, which was an issue in their 4-2 loss to Canada in the preliminary round.

The United States outshot Canada 53-27 in that game and still lost, but all signs point to them clashing again for the gold medal.

Canada 11, Sweden 0

While the Americans needed a come-from-behind effort to beat the Czechs in the quarters, there was never any doubt about Canada's spot in the semifinals.

Canada took the play to the Swedes from start to finish, outshooting them 56-11 and firmly establishing themselves as the gold-medal favorites in the process.

Team Canada needed only three minutes and five seconds to get on the board first thanks to a goal from Brianne Jenner:

Canada then scored three more in the final three minutes of the first period, including Jamie Lee Rattray's goal with 25 seconds remaining to make it 4-0 after one:

The rest of the game was essentially child's play for Canada, as it continued to pour on the pressure and goals, chasing goaltender Emma Soderberg from the game after two periods and nine goals allowed.

Ten players finished with two or more points for Canada, including Jenner and Sarah Fillier, who each scored a hat trick. Canada got four assists each out of Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse as well.

The races for the most 2022 Winter Olympics medals and the highest number of gold medals are tight after one week of competition in Beijing. 

Norway and Austria are level at the top of the overall medal table with 14 medals each. Norway picked up two medals during Friday's events, while Austria earned one. 

Norway's six gold medals is second to Germany, which has controlled all of the sliding sports. 

Germany took gold and silver in the men's skeleton on Friday morning. The European nation won all of the luge competitions, and it should be in the mix for the bobsled medals handed out next week.

The United States did not earn a medal over the last 24 hours. Shaun White did not medal in his first men's halfpipe run, and Mikaela Shiffrin finished outside of the medal places in the women's Super-G. 

Medal Count Top 5

1. Norway (6 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze) - 14

2. Austria (4 gold, 6 silver, 4 bronze) - 14 

3. Russian Olympic Committee (2 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze) - 12 

4. Canada (1 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze) - 12

5. Germany (7 gold, 4 silver, 0 bronze) - 11

Full medal table can be found on NBCOlympics.com.

Day 7 Medal Winners

Alpine Skiing

Women's Super-G

Gold: Lara Gut-Behrami (Switzerland)

Silver: Mirjam Puchner (Austria)

Bronze: Michelle Gisin (Switzerland) 

Biathlon

Women's 7.5 km Sprint

Gold: Marte Olsbu Roeiseland (Norway)

Silver: Elvira Oberg (Sweden)

Bronze: Dorothea Wierer (Italy)

Cross-Country Skiing

Men's 15km Individual

Gold: Iivo Niskanen (Finland) 

Silver: Alexander Bolshunov (ROC)

Bronze: Johannes Klaebo (Norway) 

Short Track

Women's 1,000m

Gold: Suzanne Schulting (Netherlands) 

Silver: Choi Minjeong (South Korea) 

Bronze: Hanne Desmet (Belgium)

Skeleton

Men's Singles

Gold: Christopher Grotheer (Germany) 

Silver: Axel Jungk (Germany) 

Bronze: Wengang Yan (China) 

Snowboarding

Men's Halfpipe

Gold: Ayumu Hirano (Japan)

Silver: Scotty James (Australia)

Bronze: Jan Scherrer (Switzerland)

Speedskating

Men's 10,000m

Gold: Nils van der Poel (Sweden) 

Silver: Patrick Roest (Netherlands)

Bronze: Davide Ghiotto (Italy) 

Germany Continues Domination of Sliding Sports

Germany is in the hunt to win the most gold medals and overall medals because of its control of the sliding sports. 

Christopher Grotheer extended that dominance by winning the men's skeleton competition over his teammate Axel Jungk on Friday morning. 

Grotheer became the fifth German gold medalist in five sliding sport events with his winning set of four runs. He had the fastest time in each of the first three slides down the track. 

Grotheer's skeleton win placed Germany one medal ahead of Norway in the race for the most golds at the Beijing Games. 

Germany earned a clean sweep in the luge events to put itself in that position. It won the men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles and team event in luge. 

The German duo of Hannah Neise and Tina Hermann are second and third, respectively, after two runs of the women's skeleton competition. One of those athletes could extend the German sliding dominance on Saturday. 

Germany is the reigning world champion in the two-man and four-man bobsled events, and it took silver and bronze in the women's monobob and two-woman events at the 2021 World Championships. 

The European country can pick up gold medals in other sports as well, but its path to the top of the gold-medal chart comes through more success on the sliding ice. 

Norway, Austria Tied For Overall Medal Lead

Norway and Austria are deadlocked with 14 overall medals at the top of the medal table. 

Norway made up its one-medal disadvantage going into Friday by earning two podium finishes in the Day 7 events. 

Marte Olsbu Roeiseland won gold in the women's biathlon 7.5-kilometer sprint to give the Norwegians their sixth title in Beijing. Roeiseland also won gold in the biathlon mixed relay and bronze in the women's individual event. 

Johannes Klaebo became the fourth Norwegian athlete to win multiple individual medals with his bronze in the men's 15-kilometer cross-country skiing event. 

Austria earned its 14th medal of the Beijing Games through Mirjam Puchner's second-place finish in the women's Super-G. 

Austria picked up a majority of its medals in the alpine skiing events. It has five medals from that sport, and there could be more to come in the second week of the Olympics. 

Both countries are expected to be in the mix for the most overall medals throughout the second week. The Russian Olympic Committee and Canada, both of whom have 12 medals, could make a push for the top spot as well. 

The United States will go after a third snowboarding gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday night in a new event at the Games. 

The team snowboard cross event features one man and one woman on a team, and their times are combined together for the final leaderboard. 

The United States, Italy, France, Canada and Australia each have two teams entered into the event. 

Women's snowboard cross gold medalist Lindsey Jacobellis is partnering with Nick Baumgartner on the top United States squad. 

Men's snowboard cross champion Alessandro Hammerle headlines the second-seeded Austrian squad in the event. 

Italy won the only team snowboard cross race on the FIS World Cup circuit this season, and Australia is the reigning world champion in the event. 

Team Snowboard Cross Info

Date: Friday, February 11

Start Time: 9 p.m. ET 

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com and Peacock

Preview

Italy must be viewed as the favorite to win the first-ever team snowboard cross event based on previous results. 

The Italians won the lone FIS World Cup event this season, and they took second behind Australia at the 2021 World Championships. 

Men's bronze medalist Omar Visintin and 2018 women's gold medalist Michela Moioli make up one of the best teams in the competition. The top-seeded Italian pair has an advantage to get out of the quarterfinal round because there are only three teams in its first heat. 

The other three quarterfinal heats feature four teams. The top two squads from every heat advance to the semifinals. The top two finishers in the semifinal heats move on to the medal round. 

Moioli was viewed as one of the favorites to win the women's competition, but she did not make it to the medal round. That shortcoming could serve as extra motivation to perform well in the team event. 

The top American pair of Baumgartner and Jacobellis should make it out of the quarterfinal round. They are seeded fifth and will go head-to-head with the fourth-seeded Australian squad that features women's finalist Belle Brockhoff. 

The other half of the bracket contains the lone pair of Beijing medalists. Canada's Eliot Grondin took silver in the men's competition, and Meryeta O'Dine finished third in the women's event. 

The top Canadian duo takes on the French pair of Merlin Surget and Chloe Trespeuch in the quarterfinal heat. Trespeuch finished second behind Jacobellis in the women's final. 

Each of the semifinal heats should be loaded if the favorites advance out of the first four heats. Italy, France and Canada could be best poised to advance to the medal round because of the strengths of both competitors. 

The Americans can figure in the medal round, but they need Baumgartner to match the productivity of the other male riders. 

Jacobellis is in fantastic form and can beat out any of her female competitors, but Baumgartner needs to give her an advantage of some sort in the second half of the heats. 

Pick: 1. Italy, 2. Canada, 3. United States

The United States and Canada renew their men's hockey rivalry at the 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday night. 

The Americans and Canadians do not have their typical long list of NHL star players because of the league's decision to opt out of the Beijing Games. 

However, the two do have some players who could step into starring roles in the rivalry that can give the winner an advantage at the top of Group A in men's hockey pool play. 

The United States are on top of Group A on goal difference after putting eight goals past China in their opening game. Canada scored five against Germany.

Friday's contest could feel a bit different than the openers because the two will be facing level competition. That may lead to a lower-scoring and more tense affair. 

USA vs. Canada Info

Date: Friday, February 11

Start Time: 11:10 p.m. ET 

TV: USA Network

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com or Peacock

Game Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Puck Line: Canada -1.5

Over/Under: 5.5

Money Line: Canada (-245; bet $245 to win $100); United States (+200; bet $100 to win $200) 

Pick

Canada 2, United States 1

Canada and the United States combined to hold their first opponents to a single goal.

However, only one of those defensive performances can help us break down Friday night's matchup. 

The United States shut out China, who many expect to finish with zero points and a high negative goal differential. China is ranked 32nd in the world and may not be competitive in any contest. 

Canada, ranked No. 1, held Germany to a single goal in a much more competitive opening match. Germany, ranked No. 5, is expected to contend with the loser of the Canada-U.S. game for second place in Group A. 

Team Canada brought a more experienced group to the Olympics. Former NHL star Eric Staal is the captain of the squad, and over half of the roster is 30 years old or older. 

The young talent on the Canadian roster is impressive as well with top-five NHL draft picks Owen Power and Mason McTavish.

Ranked No. 4, the United States turned to a majority of collegiate players for its squad, and defensive success will be vital. If the Americans slow down the likes of Staal and Eric O'Dell, they stand a chance of keeping the contest tight. 

Some of the other results in Groups B and C could be an indicator of what we see in a matchup of two potential group winners. 

Five of the seven games taken place outside of Group A have been decided by two goals or fewer. That could be the case for the first time in Group A if the U.S. defense holds firm. 

The biggest American concern could be its offensive output against a superior opponent. Eight goals will not happen against Canada, and if that part of the ice is shut down, the United States must attempt to win the game with its defense. 

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