After sneaking past Sweden with an overtime goal from Quinn Hughes in the quarterfinals, Team USA will take on Slovakia in the Olympic semifinals. The U.S. hasn’t been to the gold medal game since 2010, and it has a great chance to end that drought on Friday.

Through its first four games of the tournament, the U.S. has been somewhat inconsistent, but the team has shown the ability to elevate its game at the right time. The American defensemen have played a big role in keeping them alive, especially Hughes, who is tied for the team lead in points with six.

Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has allowed just three goals in three starts, and his save percentage of .957 leads all Olympians, as does his 0.98 GAA. Hellebuyck was especially sharp against Sweden, and he’s a big reason why Slovakia should have a tough time putting a crooked number on the scoreboard.

Up front, the top three U.S. centers have all had their moment to shine. Jack Eichel has played a great two-way game in each contest, Auston Matthews is tied with Hughes for the team lead in scoring and Dylan Larkin was one of the heroes against Sweden.

When it comes to the Slovakian roster, their star power begins and ends with Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky. He has seven points in four games and seems to be involved on every big goal the Slovaks score. The real surprise of the tournament has been Slovakian goalie Samuel Hlavaj, who boasts a .932 save percentage and will present a challenge for the American offense.

Since NHL players first went to the Olympics in 1998, the Americans have never medaled outside of North America. Will that change in Italy?

U.S. men’s hockey schedule

All times Eastern

Preliminary round

• Thursday, Feb. 12: USA 5, Latvia 1
• Saturday, Feb. 14: USA 6, Denmark 3
• Sunday, Feb. 15: USA 5, Germany 1

Quarterfinal

• Wednesday, Feb. 18: USA 2, Sweden 1 (OT)

Semifinal

• USA vs. Slovakia | Friday, Feb. 20 | 3:10 p.m. | NBC

Bronze medal game

• TBD vs. TBD | Saturday, Feb. 21 | 2:10 p.m. | TBD

Gold medal game

• TBD vs. TBD | Sunday, Feb. 22 | 8:10 a.m. | TBD