After a dominant 6-2 semifinal victory over Slovakia, Mike Sullivan’s Team USA has punched its ticket to the final against archrival Canada. This will be a rematch of the 4 Nations Face-Off final, which the ice hockey fans have been craving for over a year now, but with the anticipation comes a rumor surrounding President Donald Trump, whose presence is speculated at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

When asked during a press conference whether having the President in the stands would provide extra motivation for a team already skating on Olympic ice, head coach Sullivan shared his thoughts with a straight face.

“Oh, I have no idea. What I can tell you is that I think this group has plenty of motivation already to want to bring our very best. As Matthew said, it’s an incredible honor to represent the United States, and we’re all privileged to be here,” he said. “These guys have earned the right through their performance to play for a gold medal, and that in and of itself, I think, is plenty of motivation to be at our best.”

So, if President Trump shows up at the Milan Olympics, this will come following the entire controversy that happened in the early stages of the event. When Vice President JD Vance appeared on screens during the opening ceremony at San Siro, a portion of the crowd responded with audible boos. There were also protests in Milan days before the Games, when it was confirmed that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was involved in American security planning.

The controversy intensified when a few American athletes spoke out against the ongoing tensions back home, with even Donald Trump labelling athlete Hunter Hess as “a real loser” following his comments about representing the star and stripes. However, for Mike Sullivan and his team, they aren’t much bothered about the noise outside the rink.

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Coming to the tournament, many Team USA players, especially Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, were excited about their first Olympic Games.

“I mean, this is able to represent the U.S. at this stage in the Olympics is one of the greatest honors that I’ve ever had, so I’m truly grateful to be here representing the red, white, and blue,” Brady said.

Matthew followed with similar sentiments, as he added, “I think it kind of means the world it’s uh it’s really like a whirlwind of emotions um flying here this morning hanging out in the village all day and then you know getting fitted for our our clothes and you know just meeting athletes and then coming here and practicing and now it’s all like oh my gosh like day one’s over like it’s kind of crazy so um really enjoying the experience so far and having a lot of fun.”

However, Team USA’s semifinal match against Slovakia was a spectacle to watch.

Mike Sullivan’s American men’s hockey squad asserted dominance over its opponents

At just 04:19 into the game, Dylan Larkin scored for the American team. And the first period saw another Team USA goal, but this time it was from Tage Thompson, who sparkled during the power play in the final minute before the intermission.

Then came the second period, which saw not one, but three goals from Mike Sullivan’s team. The first one came from Jack Hughes, followed by Jack Eichel, with Hughes scoring again with less than two minutes remaining on the clock.

In the third period, Slovakia tried to come back with Juraj Slafkovsky scoring for his team. However, at 10:52 Brady Tkachuk took matters into his own hands and put the puck inside Slovakia’s net. Pavol Regenda scored almost three minutes later, but the team didn’t manage to fare against an aggressive Team USA, with the two Tkachuk brothers receiving a 10-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.

With the final buzzer, Team USA defeated Slovakia 6-2, and now they will be facing their northern rivals on Sunday, February 22, 2026.