MILAN, Italy — Mitch Marner scored a dramatic overtime goal Wednesday, lifting Canada to a 4-3 victory over Czechia in the quarterfinal round of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament. The goal secured Canada’s place in the semifinals at the Milan Cortina Games.
Marner’s goal, at 1:22 of the 3-on-3 overtime period, came after he deked through the Czech defense and fired a backhand past Lukas Dostal. The goal capped a comeback for Canada, which had fallen behind late in the third period.
“It’s the ‘It factor,’ man. Mitch Marner’s got it,” said head coach Jon Cooper. “There’s just never a doubt in my mind about throwing that kid over the boards, because he doesn’t disappoint.”
Canada’s victory was further complicated by an apparent injury to captain Sidney Crosby in the second period. Crosby left the game after his leg bent awkwardly following a hit from Czech defenseman Radko Gudas. He did not return for the third period, but addressed the team during the intermission, according to reports. An MRI has been scheduled to assess the extent of the injury, according to Hockey Night in Canada’s Elliotte Friedman.
Nick Suzuki tied the game 3-3 with under four minutes remaining in regulation, deflecting a Devon Toews point shot past Dostal. Earlier, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini, who continues to shine at the tournament, also scored for Canada. Celebrini, 19, has nine points in four games, surpassing Evgeni Malkin’s previous record for most points by a teenager in an Olympic tournament with NHL players.
Canada’s Connor McDavid added two assists, bringing his tournament total to 11 points, tying the record for points by an NHL player at a single Olympic Games.
The game was not without controversy. Czechia took a 3-2 lead in the third period with a goal by Ondrej Palat, but Cooper questioned whether the Czechs had too many players on the ice during the sequence. Cooper indicated officials missed a potential infraction where Czechia had six skaters on the ice.
Jordan Binnington made 21 saves for Canada, while Dostal stopped 37 shots for Czechia. Lukas Sedlak and David Pastrnak also scored for Czechia.
Canada will face either Finland or Switzerland in the semifinals on Friday. Slovakia defeated Germany 6-2 in an earlier quarterfinal and Finland defeated Switzerland 3-2 in overtime. The United States is scheduled to play Sweden later Wednesday.
Canada, which last won Olympic gold with its NHL players in 2014, had finished atop the group stage with a plus-17 goal differential. The Czechs had advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Denmark in Tuesday’s qualification round.
