Wild Olympic Update: On To The Semifinals

Mikael Granlund (right) has played the entire Olympics on a line with his childhood idol, Teemu Selanne (left). Photo: Mark Humphrey/AP

After consecutive days of a full slate of games, the Men's Olympic tournament has a day off as the Women's Tournament finishes up with their Bronze and Gold medal games. So let's check in and see how our favorite Wild players are doing.

• Nino Niederreiter and Switzerland were eliminated by the Latvian team on Tuesday 3-1, in the qualification round. Niederreiter did not register a point in his first Olympic tournament, despite getting around 17 minutes of ice time each game. He had strong performances, but unfortunately for him it did just not translate into any points. Nothing to be concerned about.
• Yesterday, the world watched as Mikael Granlund and Teemu Selanne lead Team Finland to a 3-1 victory over the host country Russia, in the quarterfinal round. Granlund and Selanne each had a goal and an assist (assisting on the other's goal), helping Finland reach the semifinal round with a matchup against rival Sweden (Friday-6 AM CDT). Granlund now has three goals and two assists in four Olympic games.
• After being held off the scoresheet for the first three games, Zach Parise (one goal) and Ryan Suter (three assists) were key contributors to the Team USA victory over the Czech Republic in yesterday's quarterfinal matchup. The win for the United States moved them into a semifinal showdown with their rivals to the north, Canada (Friday-11 AM CDT). The U.S. and Canada have not met these Olympics, and well, the last time they met was rather forgettable.

Dont forget to watch the USA women's team go for the gold medal, later this morning (11 AM CDT), against Team Canada. The meeting between the two will be the fourth gold medal meeting in five tournaments.

Follow Giles on Twitter @gilesferrell