2026 Olympic Games: Canada trails Finland 2-1 in the 2nd period of men's hockey semifinals

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Skip Rachel Homan praised Sweden for the way they played in the semifinal, getting a breakthrough in the sixth end to pull ahead of Canada to claim a 6-3 victory.

"They played a phenomenal game," she said. 

"We were just not quite as sharp."

Her team was riding a five-game win streak heading into today's semifinal. Sweden had the best record entering the game at 7-2. 

"We never gave up. We stuck with each other till the end, and we're not done here yet," Homan said. 

Team Homan will play for bronze against the U.S. Tomorrow.

Valérie Maltais just showed 'em how it's done in the 1,500-metre long-track final. 

Skating in the 10th pair against Belgian Isabelle van Elst, Maltais skated with flying colours into first place at 1:54.50 — though several pairs remain. She looked light and dynamic on the corners.

Still, Maltais beat Dutch phenom Femke Kok's time of 1:54.79, now in second spot. 

Teammate Ivanie Blondin is in fourth with 1:54.95 and Béatrice Lamarche is in 11th at 1:54.65.

Could this be a third speed-skating podium for Maltais in these Games?

It looked like a big opportunity for Canada with its first power play of the game. Finland’s Sebastian Aho was off for interference.

But a short-handed turnover went into the back of Canada's net. The goal came from Erik Haula, who backhanded it high into the net.

Finland now leads 2-0 here early in the second. Canada remains on the power play.

A look at the ice-time spread over the first period: it’s no surprise to see Canada's top defensive pairing, Devon Toews and Cale Makar, up there in minutes, logging 8:08 and 7:49, respectively.

But when you zone in on the forwards, you see it’s the teenager Macklin Celebrini leading the way there. He played 7:51 over those first 20 minutes of play. 

That's more than Connor McDavid (6:47) and Nathan MacKinnon (5:24), who are both taking shorter shifts than Celebrini.

Not a bad first period for Canada, but the Bennett penalty, called after he shoved a Finnish player into their goaltender, was unnecessary.

It’s not the size of the screen, it’s the spirit of the crowd.  

Watching on screens no bigger than many living-room TVs — roughly 100 centimetres — crowds have gathered in Navigli district for Canada's hockey game. 

First it was Canal Blues, but now more Canadians have taken over nearby bars. One restaurant has its TV balanced on Coke bottles. 

The crowd here at Blues Canal has spilled on to the patio — including a sliver of road where cars pass through. 

A woman just came by and asked politely for the fans to move so she could get her vehicle through. One Canuck made it a true Canadian hockey moment, yelling:

"CAR!" 

The crowd parted immediately.

Finland leads 1-0 after 20 minutes of this semifinal men's hockey game.

The goal came from Mikko Rantanen, off a pass just off the faceoff from Sebastian Aho.

Early in this game, we've seen Canadian head coach Jon Cooper load up his lines when his team is taking a draw in the offensive zone, rolling out Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini. But they haven’t been able to draw blood yet.

The Finns play a defensively sound game, so goals won't come easily.

Just two seconds into a power play, the Finns scored. The goal came off the faceoff. Sebastian Aho won it, and sent it back to Mikko Rantanen, who beat Binnington.

Canadian forward Sam Bennett was sitting in the box for goaltender interference. 

It's Rantanen’s second goal of the tournament.

The goal puts Finland up 1-0 as we work toward the end of the first period.

I am at Santagiulia arena where Canada's men's hockey team is taking on Finland in the semifinal. 

Before the warm-up, I spoke with Rick Celebrini, the father of 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini, who is a standout for Team Canada in his Olympic debut. 

Macklin Celebrini, who is playing his second season in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks, has scored five goals at the Olympics — including Canada's first of the games during the match against Czechia in the group stage. 

The elder Celebrini says his son has a great ability to stay focused and not get distracted by the pressure or hype. 

"He's become very good at compartmentalizing all of the stuff and just focusing on hockey," Rick Celebrini said.

"You take away all the hoopla and the Olympic rings and stuff like that, it's still hockey and that's where he's most comfortable ... On the ice when he's playing with his teammates and working his butt off."

He described what it was like the other night watching Canada squeak out an overtime win to advance to the semis. 

 "I don't think I've ever been that nervous for a sporting event, let alone a hockey game or or anything else for that matter," he said.

Macklin Celebrini has been playing alongside Connor McDavid, who has taken on the role of captain during the Finland game as Sidney Crosby isn't playing after being injured in the quarterfinal.

It was an extremely close semifinal until the sixth end, when Sweden scored two. 

Canada's skip, Rachel Homan, needed to make a tough shot in the seventh end but missed with the hammer and allowed Sweden to steal one.

The teams traded single points in the eighth and ninth. 

Canada, down 6-3, had the hammer in the 10th, but couldn't find a way to score.

Canada only had one player above 75 per cent accuracy; Sweden didn't have any under 80 per cent. 

Next up: Team Homan faces the U.S., the No. 2 seed, for the bronze medal on Saturday morning.

Halfway through this first period, Canada and Finland remain scoreless in the first of two men's hockey semifinals today.

Canada just killed a too-many-men penalty to keep things even.

Finland is outshooting Canada 7-3.

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