BILLINGS — Whitefish native Jake Sanderson and the United States men's hockey team are into the semifinal round of the Milan Cortina Olympics after a 2-1 overtime win in the quarterfinal round over Sweden on Wednesday at the Santagiulia Arena in Milan, Italy.
Quinn Hughes' goal at 3:27 of the 3-on-3, 10-minute overtime period lifted Team USA into the semis, where it will face Slovakia at 1:10 p.m. Mountain on Friday on NBC.
The Americans led 1-0 after a goal by Dylan Larkin at 11:03 of the second period, but Sweden tied the game with the goalie pulled late in the third on a slap-shot goal by Mika Zibanejad.
U.S. goalie Connor Hellebuyck stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced.
Sanderson was credited with one shot in the game against Sweden. The 23-year-old Sanderson, a defenseman for the NHL's Ottawa Senators, had two assists in Team USA's 5-1 rout over Germany on Sunday to wrap up preliminary play.
Through four Olympic contests, Sanderson has two assists and remains even on the plus/minus ledger with seven shots on goal.
Sanderson, who was born in Whitefish in 2002, has dual citizenship of the United States and Canada. He has also played internationally for Team USA in the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, the World Junior Championships, the Ice Hockey World Championships, and the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off.
Sanderson grew up playing in the Glacier Hockey Association before relocating with his family to Calgary, Alberta, when he was 12. He played college hockey at the University of North Dakota, and was picked fifth overall by Ottawa in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
