Canada to face Czechia in quarterfinals of men’s Olympic tournament

Canada now knows its opponent for the knockout stage of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament.

Czechia has booked its spot in the quarterfinals after a 3-2 win over Denmark on Tuesday at Milano Cortina 2026.

Martin Necas had a goal and an assist, while captain Roman Cervenka had the deciding goal to lead his country to another showdown against Canada. Lukas Dostal made 24 saves for his third win at the Olympics.

Denmark put up a good fight with Nick Olesen and Alexander True scoring, and Frederik Andersen made 31 saves in the loss.

It will be the first Canada-Czechia men’s hockey playoff game with NHL players at the Olympics since 1998. In that game, Czechia came away with a 2-1 semifinal victory, when Canada did not use Wayne Gretzky in a shootout.

Canada earned a 5-0 victory over Czechia in the opener of the men’s tournament and went undefeated in the preliminary round. Czechia went 1-1-1 in the preliminary round, setting up the knockout game against Denmark.

Canada locked up the top seed in the men’s tournament, which means it would get the lowest seed in the quarterfinals. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:40 a.m. ET/ 7:40 a.m. PT on Thursday.