Nick Suzuki reflects on "blacking out" during epic game-tying goal in Winter Olympic quarterfinals

Canada's Nick Suzuki delivered a clutch performance in the Winter Olympic quarterfinals, scoring the game-winning goal against Czechia that prompted both teams to play an overtime game where Canada scored 4-3 in a thrilling victory. As per reports, the Montreal Canadiens captain redirected a shot from Devon Toews past goaltender Lukas Dostal with just 3:27 left in regulation, erasing a 3-2 deficit.

But the player who scored one of the biggest goals for Canada hardly remembered anything about what happened. While speaking to the media after practice on Thursday, forward Nick Suzuki was asked about his game-tying goal in the quarterfinal game, where the player admitted that he doesn’t remember much until his awkward celebration. Let’s take a look at what prompted the Montreal Canadiens star to black out during the epic quarterfinal match.

Nick Suzuki shares his experience after scoring his game-tying goal against Czechia at the Olympics quarterfinal

Team Canada breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday after advancing to the men's ice hockey semifinals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, with Nick Suzuki appearing as one of the decisive contributors. The Montreal Canadiens captain scored the pivotal game-tying goal in the closing minutes of regulation before Canada ultimately defeated Czechia 4–3 in overtime.

Suzuki, whose goal-tying game kept the Canadian Olympic campaign alive, shared that his goal-scoring moment was almost a blur. He stated, “I kind of blacked out,” recalling his reaction after tipping in the tying goal with just over three minutes left. Caught up in the emotion, he nearly collided with a camera operator in his celebration, joking about the awkward moment.


“I kind of blacked out. All of a sudden, I was going through the door,” Suzuki said, before nearly falling into the television camera person. “The camera guy was there just doing his job, and luckily I didn’t fall down.”

Canada went on to win the game in overtime, as Mitch Marner scored a highlight-reel goal to send the gold-medal favorites to the semifinals. As per reports, it was Mitch Marner's overtime winning goal at just 1:22 into overtime that led the Canadiens to book a spot at the semifinal.

As per reports, Mitch Marner scored a dramatic winner at 1:22 of 3-on-3 overtime to recover the team from a 3-2 deficit. According to TSN, the Vegas Golden Knights winger sliced through the Czech defence and roofed a backhand to send the Canadian contingent in Italy into a frenzy. However, the team finally picked up a 4-3 victory over Czechia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Besides, top players like Macklin Celebrini and Nathan MacKinnon also had significant contributions to the team. With this, Canada will next lock horns with Finland on Friday at 10:40 a.m. ET.


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