How 'desperate' Team USA learned 'it doesn't matter how many superstars you have' in nervy Winter Olympics quarter-final win over Sweden

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For a few minutes, Team USA's hopes of a medal at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics hung in the balance. But Quinn Hughes emerged the hero for his side with an overtime strike against Sweden which continued his side's hopes of a first podium finish since 2010. Speaking after the win, Hughes said the manner of the victory showed Team USA need more than just "superstar" power.

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It took a Quinn Hughes overtime winner for the star-studded Team USA to beat Sweden and reach the semi-finals of the men's ice hockey at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

The narrow 2-1 victory was sealed when Hughes powered home from the slot, as the USA fended off an upset against one of the sides tipped to challenge their and Canada's supposed superiority.

The jubilant scenes represented the USA's sheer relief at coming through the test, after Sweden's Mika Zibanejad had levelled the match with just 91 seconds of regulation remaining.

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And Hughes credited the fight from their eventually defeated opponents.

"They've been rolling, they're competitive, they're fast," said Hughes. "It doesn't matter how many superstars you have and whatnot, it's just the desperation level."

Hughes added: "We've got guys that have won [Stanley] Cups and gotten deep in the play-offs and superstars in the league. So I feel like it's a resilient group and a lot of experience. We had an attack mindset in overtime."

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Team USA's hopes very much hung in the balance in a tense overtime period in Milan - but there were wild scenes of celebration when Hughes unleashed the killer blow, his team-mates piling onto the ice as they propelled themselves into strong medal contention.

"It was a great hockey game and I could not be more proud of our guys," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We beat an excellent hockey team in Sweden. We’ll enjoy tonight, and then turn our attention to Slovakia."

Despite their rich history as an ice hockey nation, the US have not finished on an Olympic podium since the Vancouver 2010 Games, when they won silver.

The tense quarter-final showed perhaps the first signs of fallibility for Team USA, who had trounced their early opponents, Latvia, Denmark and Germany, scoring 16 goals in the process.

But against Sweden, it was far more cagey. And winger Matthew Tkachuk felt that was the sign of two good teams.

"That's what happens when you put two really good teams together. You think that it's going to be a high-flying offence, but it's actually quite the opposite," said Tkachuk. "It took one guy to make a play at the end, and that was Quinn."

USA will face Slovakia in the semi-finals, for the chance to play in Sunday's gold medal match - as Canada face defending champions Finland on the other side of the bracket.

"It's going to be a huge, huge test for us," said Tkachuk. "Their goalie's playing incredible. Our goalie is playing incredible. It's going to make for a hell of a semi-final."

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Canada themselves scraped through to the final four via overtime, having been behind with just eight minutes to play.

And while they have a stacked roster, featuring some of the sport's most prominent players, they were knocked by the withdrawal of captain and two-time gold medal winner Sidney Crosby - who suffered a leg injury.

Watch every event of Milano Cortina 2026 live on discovery+. Available across all subscription plans, starting at £3.99.

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