Milano Cortina 2026: Semifinals locked in

World Para Ice Hockey has confirmed the semifinal and  5th-8th  placement round schedule for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

The top four ranked teams advanced without surprises after the preliminary round at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Defending champions USA topped Group A with a +32 goal difference (34:2) and will face Group B runners-up Czechia on Friday at 14:35 (all times local).

The United States have not lost a playoff game in 20 years, their last defeat coming 4-2 to Norway at Torino 2006 – the most recent time Italy hosted the Games. Czechia, meanwhile, will play their first-ever Paralympic semifinal in their fifth Games appearance. 

The teams have met twice previously at the Games, both in the preliminary round, with USA victories: 3-0 at Vancouver 2010 and 10-0 at PyeongChang 2018.

Group B winners Canada (+25 goal difference, 26:1) will take on China at 19:05 in what will be their first Paralympic meeting. Canada hold a 4-2 record in Paralympic semifinals, with their most recent loss coming against USA (3-0) at Sochi 2014. 

This is China’s second Paralympic appearance. The Beijing 2022 bronze medallists reached the semifinals once before, falling 11-0 to USA.

Placement playoffs

Finishing third in Group B, Slovakia will open the classification round against Group A’s fourth place Germany on Thursday (12) at 14:35. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two at a Winter Paralympics. Germany will be seeking their first Paralympic victory in 20 years.

Host Italy will then face Japan at 19:05. The Italians placed third in Group A, while Japan finished fourth in Group B. This will also mark their first Paralympic Winter Games encounter.

Complete Para ice hockey schedule, results and stats at Milano Cortina here.