If the U.S. men's hockey team is going to compete for an Olympic medal in Pyeongchang, it's going to come down to a couple college kids who so far have carried the Americans into Tuesday's quarterfinal matchup with the Czech Republic.


NCAA players Ryan Donato, Troy Terry and Jordan Greenway have become the most productive offensive threats for Team USA. But that was also its biggest weakness in the preliminary round, which tested the Americans' talent depth. They scored four goals in three games — all but one by Donato and Greenway — until the U.S. veterans broke through Tuesday and contributed to a 5-1 rout of Slovakia.


It was perfect timing, the most complete display yet of USA's capabilities.


Donato's third and fourth goals of the tournament were bookends to a barrage of scoring by Mark Arcobello, James Wisniewski and Garrett Roe — three players with years of professional experience who the U.S. was counting on coming into the tournament. Terry assisted on three of the goal, bringing his point total to four. And Ryan Zapolski had his best performance of the Olympics in net, stopping 21 shots and looking more like the goalie who is among the best in the KHL this season.


Harvard's Donato, 21, has been a revelation. He leads the U.S. in scoring with five points in four games — tied with six others for fourth in the tournament, including former NHL star Ilya Kovalchuk of Russia and 30-goal scorer Derek Roy of Canada. Denver's Terry is second on Team USA. Greenway leads all skaters in shots on goal and has been an imposing physical presence.


Next up is the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals in a less-than-24-hour turnaround. That was the price of preliminary stumbles that left many wondering exactly what the U.S. had to offer in an Olympic tournament missing its regular NHL players. The Czechs are favored after winning their first three games, including a shootout victory over Canada. They feature a roster with nine former NHLers, most notably Martin Erat. A win for the U.S. means a trip to the semifinals and a guaranteed chance to play for a medal, likely in a rematch with the Russians. The loser goes home.

Sporting News has live scoring updates and highlights. Follow along below. (All times Eastern).


USA vs. Czech Republic live score, updates

Third period

Second period

Shots on goal: Czechs 17, USA 13
11:37 — Czechs kill the penalty and this one will go into the third period tied 2-2. Feels like we're in for a nail-biter.
11:30 — Now the U.S. gets a power play, their first of the second period. Adam Polasek called for interference with 2:51 left in the second.
11:20 — GOAL. Jim Slater breaks up the U.S. malaise with a shorthanded goal to tie the game. He took off on a burst of speed and caught Pavel Francouz napping. What a break. The Czechs were dominating for the last 10-plus minutes.
11:17 — The U.S. doesn't have a shot on goal going on 10 minutes now.


11:15 — Another U.S. penalty kill coming up. Thirty-three seconds after the Czech goal, Mark Arcobello goes to the box for tripping.
11:13 — GOAL. Tomas Kundratek scores 8:14 into the second period. Czechs take a 2-1 lead.
11:12 — The U.S. is reeling. Three consecutive icings. The line of John McCarthy


11:09 — Czechs can't score on the power play (0 for 3), but these U.S. penalties are troubling. If nothing else, it's leeping the puck away from American sticks.
11:05 — Hardly removed from the McCarthy kill, the U.S. is back at it as Troy Terry goes to the box for high-sticking 3:28 into the second period. Not a positive trend.
11:01 — Here it goes. The U.S. starts the period with John McCarthy in the box. Czechs are 0 for 1 tonight on the power play and 2 for 8 in the tournament.
First period: USA 1, Czech Republic 1

Shots on goal: Czech 9, USA 7
10:46 — A boneheaded penalty by John McCarthy sends the U.S. off to intermission. He's called for boarding just as the period expired. The U.S. starts the second period on the penalty kill.
10:42 — U.S. to the power play. Czech captain Martin Erat is in the box for slashing with 2:24 left in the first.
10:36 — GOAL. Jan Kolar gets the Czechs on the board with 4:48 to go in the first period. Not to be confused with Jan Kovar, who assisted on that goal. Brian Gionta lost the faceoff clean.


10:32 — To put Ryan Donato's tournament in perspective, only three other U.S. players have scored five or more goals at the Olympics since 1994: Brian Rolston (seven in 1994), John LeClair (six in 2002) and Phil Kessel (five in 2014). What a run for the 21-year-old.
10:27 — First power play of the game for the U.S. It was their bread and butter yesterday with a pair of goals against Slovakia (4 for 16 for the tournament).
10:22 — GOAL. Ryan Donato can’t stop, won’t stop scoring. His fifth goal of the Olympics gives Team USA a 1-0 lead 6:20 in. None other than Troy Terry with the assist, his fifth point in five games. The kids are all right.

"This guy's on fire." @DonAtoRyan does it again! His fifth goal of the #WinterOlympics puts the @TeamUSA @USAhockey men up 1-0 over Czech Republic! https://t.co/rf3cTXnA9O pic.twitter.com/lz6XfEX9YT
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) February 21, 2018

10:16 — Jordan Greenway is racking up the penalty minutes. He goes off for holding the stick with 3:34 gone in the first period. That's his fifth minor penalty of the Olympics, and a few of them have come at critical points in a game. His style means there will be give and take, but he'll have to hone it in before he really costs the U.S.
10:10 — Here. We. Go. The puck is down. Let's do that hockey.
Pregame

9:50 — This will be a bit of a battle between rest vs. rust. The U.S. is playing on less than 24 hours rest after last night's victory over Slovakia. The Czechs haven't played since Sunday. We'll see if the Americans can ride the high of that five-goal outburst,
9:15 p.m. ET — Here are the starting line combos for Team USA. Brandon Maxwell is backing up Ryan Zapolski in net. No changes to the forward groupings.

Here's the U.S. Men's Team lineup for tonight's quarterfinal matchup with the Czech Republic at 10:10pmET on CNBC. #GoTeamUSA

Gameday info → https://t.co/CUS1LqYTrq pic.twitter.com/4mtbws14dG
— USA Hockey @USAhockey) February 21, 2018

Time: 10:10 p.m. ET

Location: Gangneung Hockey Centre
TV: CNBC