USA Hockey Continues Quest for Olympic Gold vs Czechs

The US Olympic team will be back in action on Wednesday against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals in Sochi, Russia. The Czechs moved into the quarters with a win over Slovakia on Tuesday 5-3. The Czechs got off to a 4-0 lead early in the second period, but watched Slovakia close the gap to 4-3 8:51 into the third period on a goal from Tomas Surovy. The Czechs then put their former countrymen away with a goal at the 19:21 mark with an empty netter from Tomas Plekanec. Game time will be noon EST.

Also at noon, the Canadian team will be taking on Latvia in another quarterfinal game. Canada, like the US is unbeaten in Sochi. The Latvians advanced to the quarters by beating Switzerland 3-1 on Tuesday. Latvia scored twice in the first period less than 3:00 apart to take a 2-0 lead. The Swiss closed ot to 2-1 in the second but could get no closer in what has to be considered an upset.

The winners of these two games will meet in the semifinals for a chance to play for the Gold Medal.

In the other side of the brackets, Sweden is advancing to the semifinals with an easy 5-0 win over Slovenia. a close 1-0 game was broken open in the third when the Swedes went off for four goals, two by Carl Hagelin. They will face the winner of the game between Russia and Finland, set to start at 7:30 EST.

The host Russians got to the quarters by beating Norway 4-0 on Tuesday. The Russians previous two games went to a shootout, but they would need no overtime periods on this day.

Bet DSI has the odds on Wednesday’s games:

Russia vs Finland– Russia is -225 and Finland is +185.  We are going to go with Russia -225 in this one. They have a lot of pressure as the host team, but they are too much for Finland.

Canada vs Latvia– Latvia is +1750 and Canada is -3250. This would be perhaps the biggest upset in Olympic hockey history if Latvia pulls this one off. Yes, even bigger than 1980. Take Canada -3250.

United States vs Czech Republic– Czechs are +300 and the US team is -375. It looks like it will be a Canada vs US semifinal as long as the Americans do not take the Czechs lightly. We will take the US -375.