We’re entering crunch time at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

With the qualification round complete, the men’s tournament is down to its final eight teams, who will square off in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. On the women’s side, the sport’s two heavyweights have once again emerged, as Canada and the United States advanced to Thursday’s gold medal game.

There were no surprises in the qualification round, as all four higher-seeded teams advanced to the quarterfinals.

Switzerland shut out host nation Italy 3-0, Germany handled France 5-1, Denmark pushed Czechia but fell 3-2, and Sweden rolled past Latvia 5-1 to punch its ticket to the final eight.

As the tournament’s top seed, Canada will face the lowest remaining qualifier, Czechia. The Czechs finished third in Group A with a 1-0-1-1 record. They opened the tournament with a 5-0 loss to Canada, rebounded with a 6-3 win over France, and dropped a 4-3 overtime decision to Switzerland before edging Denmark in the qualification round.

The United States, which also went 3-0 in group play but finished second overall due to goal differential, will take on Sweden. The Swedes were caught in a three-way tie atop Group B at 2-0-1 but lost out on seeding due to tiebreakers after conceding a late goal in their win over Slovakia.

Slovakia, the third seed, will meet Leon Draisaitl and Germany in what is projected to be one of the tighter quarterfinal matchups. Rounding out the bracket, defending Olympic champion Finland will face Switzerland.

On the women’s side, it’s a familiar script. For the seventh consecutive Olympics since women’s hockey debuted in Nagano in 1998, Canada and the United States will battle for gold.

Historically, Canada has held the edge, winning five of the previous Olympic gold medal meetings between the two rivals. This year, however, the momentum sits squarely with the Americans. The U.S. dismantled Canada 5-0 in group play last week and enters the final riding a seven-game winning streak against its cross-border rival.

The Americans have dominated the tournament from start to finish, winning all six games by a combined score of 31-1. Canada, meanwhile, has rebounded well since its group-stage loss and will look to flip the script on the biggest stage.

Once again, Olympic gold in women’s hockey will run through North America.