MILAN — The Canadian men’s hockey team twice overcame Czechia leads, including one late in the third period, before finally securing a spot in the Milano Cortina Olympic Games semifinals with a 4-3 victory Thursday at the Milano Ice Hockey Arena.
Mitch Marner’s game-winning goal, just 1 minute and 22 seconds into the 3-on-3 sudden-death overtime, capped a frantic game in which Czechia, 5-0 losers to the Canadians in the teams’ opening match, was less than four minutes from pulling off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history.
The victory came with questions about Canadian captain Sidney Crosby’s availability for Friday’s semifinal after he left the game in the second period and did not return after taking a hit from Czechia defender Radko Gudas.
Nick Suzuki sent the game into overtime for Canada by redirecting a Devon Toews shot past Czechia goaltender Lukas Dostal with 3:27 remaining in regulation.