A look at five things to know from Friday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games

MILAN – From early-round hockey action and a shocking unravelling in men’s figure skating to the end of an illustrious Olympic career, here are five things to know from Friday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games:

SHOCK AND FALL

The men’s figure skating free skate saw Canada’s Stephen Gogolev finish in fifth place in a competition highlighted by the shocking drop of American Ilia Malinin from first place after multiple falls. Malinin entered the free skate leading the field and as the overwhelming favourite for gold, but unravelled in the final skate by falling twice, dropping to eighth in the final standings. The event was won by Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov, followed by Japanese skaters Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato. Gogolev, with the second-best free skate, finished with a points total of 273.78, 17.8 points behind gold medallist Shaidorov.

LETHAL OFFENCE

Canada’s men’s hockey team won its second game at the Olympic tournament Friday, defeating Switzerland 5-1 and outshooting their opponents by a 39-25 margin. Canada got goals from Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Thomas Harley and Macklin Celebrini. Pius Suter tallied a power-play marker in the first period for Switzerland’s only score of the game against goaltender Logan Thompson, who was making his first start for Canada. The team is now 2-0 in the tournament, having outscored opponents 10-1 in the first two games.

WIN SOME, LOSE SOME

Canada’s curlers had a day of mixed results at the Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. The men’s team skipped by Brad Jacobs won both games, defeating American Daniel Casper 6-3 on Friday morning, then securing an 8-6 victory against defending champion Niklas Edin of Sweden. Rachel Homan’s women’s side was dealt a blow with a surprise 9-8 loss to the United States, which coach Heather Nedohin appeared to take in stride. “Welcome to the first half of the week when you’re still learning the ice, learning the rocks, and getting your emotions in check,” she said.

BACK ON TRACK?

Canada women’s hockey captain Marie-Philip Poulin was back at practice after missing the last two games with a knee injury. Poulin’s full participation was a good sign, even if she remained noncommittal about her chances of participating in Saturday’s quarterfinal against Germany. Figure skating pair Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps were also back on practice ice after an injury to Stellato-Dudek sidelined them from the team competition. Snowboarder Mark McMorris says he is ready for slopestyle after a nasty fall in big air training.

BLOEMEN’S BEAUTIFUL GOODBYE

It was an emotional sendoff for Canada’s Ted-Jan Bloemen, who crossed the finish line of the men’s 10,000-metre long-track speedskating event with a big smile. The 39-year-old finished ninth and was nearly lapped by the gold medallist in an event he once dominated, but was treated like a winner as he took a slow victory lap in front of a cheering crowd. Bloemen won gold in the 10,000 and silver in the 5,000 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and is wrapping up his Olympic career in Milan Cortina in what he described as a “beautiful goodbye.” 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 13, 2026.