Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Mitch Marner buried a backhander in overtime to lead Canada past Czechia on Wednesday, sealing a ticket to the 2026 Winter Olympics hockey semifinals.
Marner beat Czechia goaltender Lukas Dostal just 82 seconds into the overtime period of the chaotic quarterfinal at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. The Canadians trailed twice, including a 3-2 deficit with less than 3:30 remaining in regulation.
The Canadians also won the game despite playing without star forward Sidney Crosby for the final 35 minutes. Crosby sustained a lower-body injury from a hit he took from Czechia defenseman Radko Gudas in the second period.
With the victory, Canada will move onto a semifinal match Friday in Milan.
MITCH MARNER CALLS GAME IN OT. #WinterOlympicspic.twitter.com/8nCO7eg2fa— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 18, 2026
Star forwards Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini joined forces for first blood just 3:05 into Wednesday's quarterfinal. But Czechia's Lukas Sedlak found the net less than six minutes after the Celebrini score, tying the game.
Defenseman Filip Hronek and forward Roman Cervenka then fed forward David Pastrnak on a power play to give Czechia a 2-1 edge with 5:11 remaining in the first period.
McDavid and Celebrini assisted fellow forward Nathan MacKinnon on a Canadian power play for another game-tying score 12:16 into the second period. Forward Ondrej Palat gave the lead back to Czechia when he beat Jordan Binnington with 7:42 remaining in regulation.
But Canadian forward Nick Suzuki poked his stick above the ice for a deflection and found the net to tie the score for the final time with just 3:27 remaining in regulation.
Celebrini and defenseman Thomas Harley proceeded to feed Marner for the game winner less than two minutes into the 3-on-3 overtime. Marner received the puck just ahead of Canada's blue line. He then skated over centre ice and through all three Czech skaters before finding the right side of the net with his backhanded finisher.
Celebrini registered a goal and two assists for Canada. McDavid also totaled two assists in the victory. Binnington made 21 saves. Dostal made 37 stops for Czechia. Cervenka logged two assists in the loss.
The Canadians will take on the lowest remaining seed in their semifinal.
No. 3 Slovakia beat No. 6 Germany in the first quarterfinal of Wednesday's slate. No. 5 Switzerland was set to take on No. 4 Finland and No. 2 Team USA will battle No. 7 Sweden in the other quarterfinals.
No. 2 Team USA is set to face No. 7 Sweden in the last quarterfinal at 3:10 p.m. EST Wednesday in Milan. The men's semifinals will each be held Friday at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. The gold medal game will take place Sunday on the same ice.