5 things to know Wednesday at the Winter Games

From the men's hockey team narrowly surviving an upset scare in the elimination round to gold on the short-track speedskating rink, here are five things to know from Day 12 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games:

MILAN – From the men’s hockey team narrowly surviving an upset scare in the elimination round to gold on the short-track speedskating rink, here are five things to know from Day 12 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games:

SCARY ADVANCEMENT

The men’s hockey team successfully moved into the semis at the Olympic tournament, but it was anything but comfortable as the squad needed an overtime goal from forward Mitch Marner to advance with a 4-3 win. Canada, which had defeated Czechia in its opening game by a 5-0 score, encountered much more resistance from the Czech side on Wednesday, trailing 2-1 and 3-2 in the game before Nick Suzuki scored to send the game into the extra frame. The game also saw Canada lose captain Sidney Crosby to injury in the second period when his right leg bent awkwardly during a hit by Czechia’s Radko Gudas.

GOLDEN SHORT-TRACK

Steven Dubois added to Canada’s medal count at Milan-Cortina Wednesday, winning gold in the men’s 500-metre short-track speedskating event. It is Canada’s 14th medal and fourth gold at the Games. Fellow Canadian William Dandjinou was assessed a penalty during the finals and did not podium. Dandjinou had been a favourite to medal in multiple short-track speedskating events coming into Milan-Cortina. Dubois has won two medals at the Games after previously winning silver as part of the mixed team relay event.

PILING UP MEDALS

On the women’s side, Courtney Sarault won her fourth medal at the Games after the Canadians took bronze in the women’s 3,000-metre relay. Sarault and teammate Kim Boutin have both won multiple medals in Italy, with Boutin previously winning a silver and Sarault having already won two silvers and a bronze. The Canadians led much of the race but were caught by the eventual gold-medal winners from South Korea and silver medallists from Italy in the final laps. Defending gold medallists from the Netherlands finished fourth after contact with a Canadian skater led to a fall early in the race.

STEAMROLLER