Olympic updates: Werenski, U.S. advance to semifinals

For the first time in 12 years, NHL players are back at the Olympics, and the competition at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 is kicking into gear in the race for a gold medal.

United States defenseman Zach Werenski and Latvia goaltender Elvis Merzlikins were chosen to represent the Blue Jackets in Italy while taking part in the experience of a lifetime. The two longtime members of their national team programs – Werenski started with the U.S. National Team Development Program at age 16, while Merzlikins also started skating for his native country as a teenager – realized lifelong dreams by qualifying for one of the biggest events in the sport.

And as the tournament reaches the semifinals, just one remains. The United States survived a dramatic quarterfinal Wednesday with a 2-1 overtime victory over Sweden, which eliminated Merzlikins and Latvia on Tuesday.

The reigning Norris Trophy runner-up and an alternate captain with the Blue Jackets, Werenski headed to Milano Cortina second in the NHL among defensemen in goals (20) and points (62) this season. The Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., native competed in the IIHF World Junior Championships in 2015 and '16, led the 4 Nations Face-Off in scoring last February and won a gold medal with Team USA at the IIHF World Championships last spring, being named the tournament's best defenseman as the Americans won the event for the first time since 1933.

Merzlikins has skated in six World Championships, being named a Top 3 Player for Latvia three times, as well as the World Juniors and Olympics qualifiers for his home nation. The Riga native is in his seventh season with the Blue Jackets and entered the tournament having won five of his last six starts with a 2.03 GAA, .925 save percentage and one shutout in that span.

The schedule for the event is as follows, and we'll update this page throughout the tournament with how the Blue Jackets are faring. Games will be televised as part of NBC Olympics coverage including streaming through Peacock.

Preliminary Round Schedule

Thursday, Feb. 12

United States 5, Latvia 1

Saturday, Feb. 14

Latvia 4, Germany 3

United States 6, Denmark 3

Sunday, Feb. 15

Denmark 4, Latvia 2

United States 5, Germany 1

Knockout Schedule

Tuesday, Feb. 17 (Playoff Round)

(7) Sweden 5, (10) Latvia 1 (Latvia eliminated)

Wednesday, Feb. 18 (Quarterfinals)

(2) United States 2, (7) Sweden 1 (OT)

Friday, Feb. 20 (Semifinals)

(2) United States (Werenski) vs. (3) Slovakia, 3:10 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, Feb. 22

Gold medal game at 8:10 a.m.

Tournament Updates

Wednesday, Feb. 18

Capping a dramatic day of quarterfinals that featured three overtime games, Werenski and Team USA survived and marched on in its quest for a first gold since 1980, as Quinn Hughes' OT goal gave the Americans a 2-1 victory over Sweden.

After a second-period goal from Dylan Larkin, Sweden got a late equalizer with the goalie pulled from Mika Zibanejad, setting up a 3-on-3, winner-take-all overtime. Hughes was able to beat goalie Jacob Markstrom from the slot to keep the dreams of a U.S. gold medal alive.

Werenski had three shots on goal and skated 17:45, including a late look at a winner in regulation and a shift in overtime before Hughes' tally.

The U.S. will play Slovakia on Friday, while top-seeded Canada and fourth-seeded Finland both advanced in overtime as well and will battle in the other semifinal.

Tuesday, Feb. 17

Merzlikins earned the start in Latvia's elimination game vs. Sweden, but the CBJ netminder couldn't pull a rabbit out of his pads. Latvia was up to the challenge for stretches of the game, but Sweden used some fantastic passing plays and individual efforts to pull away to a 5-1 victory that ended the Latvians' tournament.

Making his second start of the Olympics, Merzlikins stopped 23 of 28 shots, including a spectacular glove save in the third on NHL star Elias Pettersson, but it wasn't enough as the Swedes got goals from Adrian Kempe, Gabriel Landeskog, Filip Forsberg, Mika Zibanejad and William Nylander.

Merzlikins made 51 saves on 60 shots against in his two games and will now return to Columbus for the second half of the season.

Sunday, Feb. 15

Werenski scored his first goal as an Olympian, putting the United States on the board on the way to a 5-1 victory over Germany to end pool play.

Werenski took a pass across the zone from Auston Matthews and fired to the far post to beat goalie Maximilian Franzreb with just nine seconds left in the first period to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead. It was a key goal to get the Americans rolling, as Team USA added two goals in the second and two more in the third to clinch the win.

The CBJ defenseman skated 19:30, posting the goal with a plus-1 rating as well as a minor penalty. Through three games, he has a goal and an assist as well as a plus-4 rating in an average of 18:19 of ice time. Werenski is just the fourth CBJ player to score a goal at the Olympics while playing for the Blue Jackets, joining Radoslav Suchy (Slovakia, 2006), David Vyborby (Czech Republic, 2006) and Rick Nash (Canada, 2010).

The United States finished group play with a 3-0 record and earned a bye into the quarterfinals. As the No. 2 seed, Team USA will play the winner of Tuesday's playoff round game between seventh-seeded Sweden and 10th-seeded Latvia on Wednesday.

Latvia dropped its final group stage game by a 4-2 score to Denmark, nearly rallying from a 3-0 first-period deficit. For the second game in a row, Merzlikins served as the backup netminder to Arturs Silovs.

Saturday, Feb. 14

Werenski and the United States were pushed Saturday afternoon by Denmark but eventually took over, scoring three times in the second period and twice in the third to earn a 6-3 victory.

The CBJ defenseman finished plus-2 with four shots on goal in 18:12 of ice time, which placed third among U.S. defensemen. He originally was credited with an assist on Jake Guentzel's third-period goal, in which the Americans hemmed Denmark in its zone before Guentzel's shot from the left circle, but the official scoring eventually took the helper away.

Werenski is now plus-3 with an assist in the two contests for the 2-0 American squad.

Latvia downed Germany by a 4-3 score, with Merzlikins serving as the backup to Arturs Silovs.

Thursday, Feb. 12

Werenski and Team USA got off to a successful start, downing Merzlikins and Latvia by a 5-1 score.

It took just 5:29 for Werenski to earn his first point as he assisted on Brady Tkachuk's goal. Werenski moved the puck quickly up the ice to Matthew Tkachuk, who fed his brother for a shot past Merzlikins from the slot.

After the teams were knotted at one through a period, the United States pulled away with a trio of goals in the second period as the Americans had a 17-2 edge in shots on goal in that frame, peppering Merzlikins throughout.

Werenski finished with 17:15 of ice time, putting three shots on goal and drawing a penalty while finishing plus-1. He quarterbacked Team USA's No. 2 power-play unit as well.

Merzlikins made 28 saves on 32 shots against as Latvia was under siege for large parts of the game. Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs played the third.

U.S. Women Win Gold

On the women's side, two Ohio natives, one current Ohio State player and two Buckeye alums won gold as the United States captured the crown Thursday in a dramatic 2-1 overtime win over Canada.

Captain Hilary Knight tied the game with an extra attacker before Megan Keller's spectacular game-winning goal in OT, giving the U.S. its third Olympic gold (1998, 2018).

Cleveland Heights native Laila Edwards assisted on Knight's tying goal and finished the tournament with two goals and six assists, while Athens native Gwyneth Philips has posted a pair of shutouts, including one in the quarterfinal victory vs. Italy. They are the first Ohio-born players to win gold for the Team USA women in hockey.

Current Ohio State junior Joy Dunne had two goals and five points in her first Olympics, while Buckeye alums Hannah Bilka (4-3-7) and Cayla Barnes (goal in the semifinal win vs. Sweden, plus-7 rating) also did their part to win gold.

The U.S. outscored its opponents 33-2 in the tournament.

Four OSU alumnae were also on Team Canada, which beat Germany and Switzerland in the knockout round to reach the gold medal game. Forwards Natalie Spooner (1-0-1), Emma Maltais (0-2-2) and Jenn Gardiner (1-0-1) as well as defenseman Sophie Jaques (0-3-3) took part in the classic battle and will leave Italy with silver medals.

Swiss goalie Andrea Braendli, also an OSU product, earned a bronze medal Thursday, backstopping her country to a 2-1 OT win over Sweden. Braendli made 32 saves in the bronze medal game and 40-plus saves in her other three starts, posting a .953 save percentage for the tournament with a shutout of Finland in the quarterfinals.

Three current Ohio State players – forward Hilda Svensson (1-6-7) and defenseman Jenna Raunio (0-4-4) and Mira Jungåker (2-0-2) – helped Sweden to the bronze medal game, while Finnish forward Sanni Vanhanen finished her tournament with a goal and assist in five games before her team fell in the quarterfinal round vs. Switzerland.