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Zach Werenski's three assists help U.S. advance to gold medal game
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- Zach Werenski's three assists help U.S. advance to gold medal game
It took Zach Werenski less than five minutes to do for the United States what he does routinely for the Blue Jackets in a 6-2 rout of Slovakia in the semifinals of the Milano Cortina 2026 men's hockey tournament Feb. 20 at Milano Santagiulia Arena.
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Getting the puck near his own blue line, Werenski spotted longtime friend Dylan Larkin , skating with a full head of steam toward Slovakia's zone. Zipping a perfectly placed stretch pass on Larkin's stick outside the blue line, Werenski watched his feed become the game's first goal.
Larkin, the Detroit Red Wings ' captain, gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead 4:19 into the game and the Stars and Stripes rolled into a Feb. 22 showdown for the gold medal with No. 1 seed Canada (5-0-0-0). As Johnny Gaudreau 's parents, wife and kids watched from the stands , Werenski added two more primary assists in a three-goal second period for the U.S., which outshot Slovakia 39-24 and led 5-0 starting the third.
He's the first Blue Jackets player to finish an Olympic game with more than two points, surpassing forward Rick Nash 's two-point game in Canada's 8-0 win over Norway on Feb. 16, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
"We obviously all talked about (the Gaudreaus) before the game," Werenski said during an NBC postgame interview. "We're so happy (the Gaudreaus) are here to experience this, and we're excited we're playing for gold in front of them."
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Werenski didn't play much in the third to avoid injury, finishing with 13:27 on 16 shifts. He now has five points in the tournament on a goal and four assists to help the U.S. notch five straight wins over Latvia, Denmark and Germany in the preliminary round, Sweden in the quarterfinals and Slovakia in the semis.
MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 20: Zach Werenski #8 of Team United States skates with the puck in the first period during the Men's Semifinals Playoff match between the United States and Slovakia on day fourteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 20, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Canada needed Nathan MacKinnon 's late power-play goal in the third period to slip past Finland in the day's first semifinal.
Werenski assisted on goals by New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes in the second period, giving him the puck inside the blue line for the first and firing a shot to create a rebound for the second, giving the U.S. a near insurmountable 5-0 lead.
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"I was just finding guys," Werenski told NBC. "I found Jack (Hughes) twice today. Obviously, he had a great game. I found Larks early on. I really wasn't doing anything special. I was just getting the puck to guys that were feeling it, and they made some good plays."
Slovakia and Finland will play for the bronze medal Feb. 21, a day before the U.S. and Canada square off in a rematch of l ast year's 4 Nations Face-Off championship game at TD Garden in Boston . Canada won that one in overtime on a goal by Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid , which ended an intense tournament that began with the rivals engaging in three straight fights to start the first game.
Fighting in the Olympics results in a game misconduct on top of a five-minute major penalty for each combatant, so don't expect a repeat of that scene. Should the game be mostly decided late in the third period, however, there could be multiple scraps.
MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 20: Martin Fehervary #42 of Team Slovakia and Zach Werenski #8 of Team United States compete for the puck in the second period during the Men's Semifinals Playoff match between the United States and Slovakia on day fourteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 20, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Werenski led all scorers in the 4 Nations tournament with six points in four games on six assists while handling a similar role playing behind Quinn Hughes for the first two games. Hughes, formerly of the Vancouver Canucks and now with the Minnesota Wild after U.S. general manager Bill Guerin acquired him via trade, didn't play the final two games due to injury.
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In the Olympics, the U.S. coaching staff has limited Werenski's role again with Hughes healthy. Regardless, he's averaging a point per game despite playing significantly less than he does for the Blue Jackets. Now, he's got one game left to do what Werenski helped the U.S. do in May 2025 by ending a 92-year gold medal drought at the men's world championships.
Folllwing that gold medal triumph, Werenski hustled back to the U.S. locker room and grabbed Gaudreau's No. 13 USA jersey out of its locker and brought it to the ice for the celabration. Expect a similar scene if the U.S. tops Canada in the Olympics.
"Obviously, it's a great team in Canada, and we saw them twice at the '4 Nations,'" Werenski said. "It's going to be a battle. We're going to enjoy this (win). We'll get ready for them (Feb. 21) and focus on them more, but we're really looking forwaed to the challenge."
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 88778319007
