2026 Olympics: USA hockey gets stiff quarterfinal test in Sweden

The USA men’s hockey team has been dominant so far at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, winning all three of their qualification games by a combined score of 16-5. Their reward for playing so well? The toughest quarterfinal matchup against Sweden, one of the top medal contenders in the tournament. Sweden’s disappointing round-robin play, including a loss to rival Finland, left them third in Group B and seventh overall. They knocked off Latvia in the play-in round on Tuesday, setting up the game against the Americans on Wednesday. Puck drop is set for 3:10 p.m. ET between these two strong hockey nations. This feels more like a semifinal than a quarterfinal and will be a tough early...