MILAN -- With the clock ticking down and Canada trailing Czechia with mere minutes left in an elimination game at the Olympics, even the most hardened players with gold medals and Stanley Cup rings started to feel butterflies.
"I never had a doubt, but it was getting a little nerve-wracking," defenseman Drew Doughty said.
After losing captain Sidney Crosby to injury, Canada was staring down what would have been a stunning quarterfinal exit until Nick Suzuki tied it on a deflection goal with 3:27 left. Mitch Marner then scored a little over a minute into overtime to beat Czechia 4-3 on Wednesday and send the tournament favorite into the semifinals.
"Everybody had complete faith in whoever was going over the boards," coach Jon Cooper said. "It just felt it was like a matter of time. It was going to happen."
The nerves were palpable when Canada fell behind with 7:42 remaining on Ondrej Palat's goal on an odd-man rush off a pass from Martin Necas. Replays showed Czechia had six skaters on the ice, which Nathan MacKinnon said he and his teammates were aware of, even if on-ice officials didn't notice.
Suzuki just about did it all on the tying goal, sending the puck out to the point to Devon Toews and then redirecting the defenseman's shot that was going well wide past Lukas Dostal and into the net.
"Toewser gave me a perfect opportunity to tip it," Suzuki said. "Just trying to put something on net there."
Jordan Binnington denied David Pastrnak on a breakaway with 70 seconds left to send the game past regulation. It was the biggest of Binnington's 21 saves in an excellent performance from Canada's starter.
Marner then summoned some more heroics while playing for Canada, scoring his second overtime goal in an international tournament in as many chances. Marner also scored in a similar fashion a year ago at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"It's the 'it' factor, man: Mitch Marner's got it," Cooper said. "He doesn't disappoint. Sometimes your hair falls out at times, but in the end, he never disappoints."
Canada could now face Finland or Sweden in the semifinals Friday. The U.S. plays Sweden in the fourth and final quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
In other quarterfinal games:
Finland 3, Switzerland 2 (OT): Much like Canada, Finland was trailing late in its game against Switzerland and got a late goal to avoid an upset defeat.
Miro Heiskanen tied it with 72 seconds left, Artturi Lehkonen scored in overtime and Finland escaped with a 3-2 victory. Heiskanen's shot banked in off Switzerland defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler's stick and past goaltender Leonardo Genoni.
Finland was actually down two goals after Switzerland's Damien Riat and Nino Niederreiter scored 1 minute, 12 seconds apart in the first period. It took until there was 6:06 left before Sebastian Aho got Finland on the board.
Slovakia 6, Germany 2: Dalibor Dvorsky turned in another brilliant performance with a goal and an assist, fellow NHL forward Pavol Regenda scored twice as part of his three-point game, and Slovakia dominated Germany 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the semifinals and guarantee playing for a medal in Milan.
"Amazing," said alternate captain Erik Cernak, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning. "Before the tournament, if we would say we're going to make semifinals, probably people would laugh at you. But we did it, and it's not done yet."
Slovakia got an injury scare in the second period when Juraj Slafkovsky, 21, the reigning Olympic MVP, went headfirst into the boards and was slow to get up. A trainer applied an ice pack to the back of Slafkovsky's neck, and he held it on himself when he got up to celebrate a goal scored while he was getting medical attention.
"I'm OK," said Slafkovsky, who plays for the Montreal Canadiens. "I was a little shaken up, but after a couple minutes I felt OK again. I went out there, and head wasn't spinning. I was seeing normal."
Slafkovsky was held off the score sheet until assisting on captain Tomas Tatar's empty-net goal with 3:27 left, and he was thrilled to see his teammates fill the net instead.
"We were saying, 'It doesn't matter who's going to score,'" Slafkovsky said. "We just need that one extra goal."
Added defenseman Martin Fehervary: "I don't think it does matter if Slafko has some points. He can do some other work for us, and we have plenty of players who can score, as well."
Dvorsky, who plays for the St. Louis Blues, and Regenda, who split time between the San Jose Sharks and their AHL affiliate this season, led the way offensively. Dvorsky made the initial pass that led to Milos Kelemen's goal and had a terrific individual effort to spring himself for his third goal at the Olympics.
At the other end of the rink, Minnesota Wild goaltending prospect Samuel Hlavaj did his job, making 25 saves and allowing only goals to Lukas Reichel, off a feed from Leon Draisaitl, and to Frederik Tiffels on the power play.
Four years ago, Slovakia won the bronze medal -- the country's first hockey medal of any color at the Olympics -- behind Slafkovsky's seven goals.
"We just have to keep working, and whatever opening comes next, we're going to be ready for whoever," Regenda said. "We have to be as a team as we are. We have great guys, and we have to stick as a team."