Follow the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games live on our various platforms
MEDAL TABLE|SPECIAL SECTION| BROADCAST SCHEDULE
Germany and Switzerland both secured victories in their respective qualification matches on Tuesday, advancing to the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey tournament.
Two more elimination games are scheduled for later today. The winner of the Czech Republic versus Denmark matchup will face Canada, while the victor between Sweden and Latvia will take on the United States.
Germany defeated France 5-1 to earn their spot in the quarterfinals.
Leon Draisaitl led the charge for Germany, opening the scoring just 3:40 into the first period. After a relatively quiet preliminary round for a player of his caliber – with one goal and two assists – Germany desperately needed a performance from their star. He doubled his point total on the day with a goal and two more assists.
A costly turnover by French captain Pierre-Édouard Bellemare in his own zone then created an opportunity for Frederik Tiffels, a childhood friend of Draisaitl who is now living out an Olympic dream alongside him. Tiffels fired a precise shot into the top corner to produce it 2-0 midway through the period.
JJ Peterka extended the lead to 3-0 before the conclude of the period, but France, which lost all three of its preliminary round games, tightened up its defense in the second and finally found a breakthrough. Bellemare had a chance to redeem himself and capitalized on a fortunate bounce. His shot from behind the net deflected off an opposing defender’s skate and into the net, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Bellemare is 40 years and 348 days old, making him one of the oldest players to score in an Olympic game with NHL participation, trailing only Teemu Selanne (43 in 2014), Jaromir Jagr (41 in 2014), and Daniel Alfredsson (41 in 2014).
Joshua Samansky and Nico Sturm (into an empty net) completed the scoring in the third period.
Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves for Germany.
Canada, the United States, Slovakia, and Finland received direct passes to the semifinals based on their standings after the group stage.
Switzerland Joins Finland in Quarterfinals
Switzerland defeated Italy 3-0, thanks to a goal and two assists from Nico Hischier, securing their place in the quarterfinals alongside Finland.
With Los Angeles Kings forward Kevin Fiala’s season over, Philipp Kurashev stepped up to play on Switzerland’s top line.
Kurashev scored just 1:19 into the game, deflecting a shot from Nico Hischier past Damian Clara. Timo Meier earned an assist, giving him his sixth point of the tournament and making him the Swiss team’s leading scorer.
Roman Josi, one of the most utilized players in the men’s tournament, doubled the lead on the power play midway through the period after a Thomas Larkin penalty. He unleashed a good wrist shot, and Italy conceded its fifth goal on 10 power plays.
Hischier added his third point of the game with a perfectly executed passing play on the power play in the third period.
Italy was briefly without Matt Bradley, who collided heavily with the boards in the opening seconds of the game, but he did return to play.
Italy finished 12th and last in the preliminary round with a goal differential of -15.
