But will Thompson play after suffering an injury in the semifinal round? Head coach Mike Sullivan is optimistic Thompson will be on the ice Sunday against Canada.
Team USA forward and UConn alum Tage Thompson advanced to the gold-medal game of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, but it’s questionable whether the former Huskies standout will play.
Thompson didn’t appear in the third period of the United States’ 6-2 semifinal win over Slovakia, removed for what head coach Mike Sullivan called a precautionary measure. It is believed he sustained a foot injury while blocking a shot.
"We'll see how he recovers, but I anticipate him being ready for game time," Sullivan said.
The 28-year-old Thompson scored on a power play and had an assist in the first period for the Americans, who led 5-0 after two periods. He did not return to the bench for the third period and was photographed walking in the hallway of the arena in Milan with just his socks on his feet.
Thompson has been impressive on Olympic ice with three goals and an assist in five games, and the United States undoubtedly would like to have him available for the final against Canada. The Canadians defeated Finland 3-2 on Friday to advance.
The United States is looking for its first men's hockey gold medal since the "Miracle on Ice" team of 1980.
UConn connection
Thompson is a native of Orange, Conn., located about 90 minutes from the UConn campus in Storrs. He played two seasons (2015-17) for the Huskies, who are part of the Hockey East conference.
As a freshman, Thompson led the nation with 13 power play goals and was tied for eighth in scoring among NCAA freshmen – fourth in Hockey East -- with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists).
After that season, the St. Louis Blues used the 26th overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft on Thompson, who returned to school for one more year.
As a sophomore, he posted 32 points again, leading the Huskies with 19 goals. He was a Hockey East third-team All-Star selection in 2017.
Thompson is in his ninth NHL season. He played the first one with the Blues (2017-18), then was part of the package in the trade with the Buffalo Sabres for forward Ryan O’Reilly. He has played in 464 games with the Sabres, who currently are in position to qualify for their first Stanley Cup playoffs since 2011.
Elsewhere on campus
The No. 5 UConn men’s basketball will look to rebound from a stunning 91-84 home loss on Wednesday against Creighton when they play at Villanova on Saturday.
The Huskies (24-3, 14-2 Big East) suddenly find themselves in a fight in the conference. They relinquished at least a share of the league lead to St. John’s (21-5, 14-1) with the loss, and Villanova (21-5, 12-3) is right on their tail in the Big East standings.
The Wildcats and Huskies played a tough game in their first meeting on Jan. 24, with UConn escaping with a 75-67 overtime win at home.
As for the No. 1 UConn women (28-0, 17-0), they clinched the Big East regular-season title on Wednesday with their 83-69 victory over Villanova. They will host Providence (14-14, 7-10) on Sunday.
UConn won the first matchup of the season 90-53 at Providence on New Year’s Eve.
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