Team USA exhibiting survival of fittest on and off ice heading into Olympic semis

MILAN -- The scene was striking at the Olympic Village on a rainy afternoon Thursday.

Amid a mix of athletes from all over the world -- Austria, China, France, Norway, South Korea, Mongolia and more -- Team Sweden forward Lucas Raymond rolled his suitcase out of the main gate, departing the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

Team USA coaches and players remained. After their dramatic 2-1 overtime win against the Swedes in the quarterfinals at Santagiulia Arena on Wednesday, the Americans held a team meeting, then rested and recovered ahead of facing Team Slovakia in the semifinals Friday (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, NBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC [JIP], SN [JIP], RDS2).

“Fortunately for us, we’re still here,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, standing outside the main gate in a U.S. Olympic team T-shirt. “But yeah, I would have a hard time wrapping my head around it if we were heading home today.”

The Americans gave a sneak peek at life in the village during these Darwinian days of single elimination in the men’s hockey tournament.

Each of their games has been at 9:10 p.m. local time, the best time for television in the United States. That means the team bus usually leaves the rink after the game at 12:45 a.m., putting them back at the village at about 1 a.m.

The Americans go to the dining hall to fuel their bodies. On Wednesday night -- or early Thursday morning, technically -- they found themselves in the dining hall with the fellow NHL players they had just eliminated.

“It’s a little weird, just with us and Sweden being the only two teams in there,” defenseman Zach Werenski said. “Obviously, it’s a little bit better for us after a win, but I can imagine it’s probably pretty hard for them in that situation. But it’s all part of the experience, and we’re just trying to take it all in.”

It can be difficult to sleep in the aftermath of a game, especially one of that magnitude. Tkachuk said a few of the Americans play cards to wind down. This time, it was only four guys.

“I would say last night you’re probably not shutting it down until [about 3 a.m.] by the time everything’s all said and done,” Tkachuk said. “But that’s what happens when you have americano and espresso at 6 and 7 p.m. at night. I guess you’re asking for it.”

Tkachuk said he woke up Thursday and went to the dining hall at the end of breakfast or the beginning of lunch. He didn’t eat. He just chatted with people and traded pins.

“That’s, like, my normal morning,” Tkachuk said. “Normally, you’re sitting at a table with all the hockey guys, but there’s a table of some of the figure skaters from the U.S. and from other countries right next to us, so we’re just kind of hanging, talking with them.”

Tkachuk said he worked out for an hour with a group of teammates.

As the Americans were walking to a team meeting, the Slovaks were walking back to the village. The Americans met to go over video of the Sweden game and touch on the scouting report for the Slovakia game.

They didn’t practice so they could recharge. The coaches and players had the rest of the day to themselves.

Forward J.T. Miller ran into Laila Edwards of the U.S. women’s hockey team, which was about to play Team Canada in the gold medal game Thursday. He gave her a fist bump, wished her luck and told her to enjoy it.

“Obviously, going to be an awesome environment to be in,” Miller said. “I think I’m going to head over to the game and watch. That’ll be fun.”

As Miller spoke outside the main gate, Team Finland center Sebastian Aho walked by. The Finns play Team Canada in the semifinals Friday (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA [JIP], ICI Tele, CBC Gem, RDS2, CBC, SN [JIP]).

What’s it like being in such close proximity to your competitors with so much on the line?

“I mean, it’s all business,” Miller said. “I think that everybody knows what we’re here to do and understands the beast that we’re dealing with here, so [you've] just got to get used to that. It’s part of the deal. I think everybody’s comfortable in that situation. I think that’s when we can lean on our teammates.”

The Americans will hold a morning skate and go over Slovakia in more detail before the game Friday. Win, and they advance to the gold medal game Sunday. Lose, and they play for bronze Saturday.

“It’s another Game 7 tomorrow,” Werenski said, “and we understand what’s at stake.”