Olympic Hockey Results 2018: Men, Women's Wednesday Scores, Highlights

The first medal was handed out in women's hockey, and the medal round in men's hockey was officially set Wednesday at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Finland edged the Olympic Athletes from Russia to take women's hockey bronze, while the OAR, Germany and Canada all reached the semifinals on the men's side, joining the Czech Republic, which defeated the United States in a shootout.

The 2018 men's tournament is perhaps the most unpredictable one in Olympic hockey history, as evidenced by Germany's shocking win over Sweden, and there remains little separation to speak of between the four teams that will play for medals.

With the men's medal round set and the women's gold-medal game on the horizon, here is a closer look at how Wednesday's games played out in Pyeongchang.

Women's Hockey: Finland 3, Olympic Athletes from Russia 2

After losses to the United States and Canada respectively in the semifinals, Finland and the Russia team clashed for bronze in women's hockey Wednesday.

OAR were in search of their first-ever medal in women's hockey, while Finland looked to add a third bronze to its mantel.

Finland jumped out to a 1-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, and it added a second marker 10 seconds into the second period courtesy of Susanna Tapani.

Olga Sosina cut the deficit in half for the Russian team just over two minutes later, but Finland restored the two-goal lead when Linda Valimaki found the back of the net later in the second.

The Russians made things interesting when Lyudmila Belyakova scored in the third, but decorated Finnish goaltender Noora Raty shut the door and preserved the victory.

After the win, Raty could barely contain her excitement, per Lucas Aykroyd of IIHF Hockey: "This is awesome! It's one of the best days of my life. We've been waiting for this for four years, ever since Sochi. We beat Sweden in overtime in Vancouver, and that was a great feeling to beat your biggest rival. But we were underdogs in that game; we were favorites today, I think, so there was more pressure."

While the Russia team fell short of their first medal in women's hockey, Leila Rahimi of NBC Olympics pointed out that both teams made big strides since the 2014 Sochi Games in Russia:

Finland has now won a medal in two of the past three Olympics, and with three women's hockey medals overall, only Canada and the United States have more.

Men's Hockey: Olympic Athletes from Russia 6, Norway 1

In what looked like the biggest mismatch of the quarterfinals on paper, the men's Russian hockey team easily took down Norway 6-1 to advance to the semis.

OAR's deep and talented roster paid dividends against Norway, as six different players scored goals, including former Buffalo Sabres forward Mikhail Grigorenko and former Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov.

Also, former Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk had two assists, while former Atlanta Thrashers and New Jersey Devils sniper Ilya Kovalchuk had a helper as well.

The Russians put on a clinic, and Pete Judge of ISS Hockey was among those who were thoroughly impressed:

Although OAR have question marks on defense and in goal, Norway was never able to offer much of a test, since it mustered just 14 shots on goal.

After the loss, Norwegian forward Patrick Thoresen tipped his hat to the better team, according to Callum Ng of IIHF Hockey: "When you reach the quarterfinal, you want to move on to the next round. But we came up against a big contender today, and we couldn't hold off their offense, they were too strong for us."

The Russians aren't bulletproof, as evidenced by their group-stage loss to Slovakia, but they have a huge advantage in the medal round when it comes to their firepower up front.

The Czech Republic will offer a stiff test in the semifinals, but if OAR can carry the play like it did against Norway, it has a strong chance of playing for the gold medal.

Men's Hockey: Germany 4, Sweden 3

Germany entered the quarterfinals of the men's hockey tournament as a huge underdog against top-seeded Sweden, but the Germans pulled off a major upset in overtime.

Although Germany blew a two-goal lead in the third period, Patrick Reimer made up for it by scoring one minute and 30 seconds into overtime to give the Germans their first-ever win over Sweden in Olympic competition.

As pointed out by TSN's Ian Mendes, Germany's shocking win was an example of how the lack of NHL talent in the tournament could yield some unexpected results:

Germany jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period and led 3-1 until nearly midway through the third.

Sweden had two quick-strike goals from Patrik Hersley and Mikael Wikstrand to tie it, and every indication was that the Swedes would feed off that momentum and pull off the come-from-behind victory.

That didn't happen, though, thanks to Reimer's individual effort and ability to beat Swedish goaltender Viktor Fasth after bullying his way to the front of the net.

The win was among the biggest in German hockey history, and team captain Marcel Goc discussed what it means, per Andrew Podnieks of IIHF Hockey:

"It's huge for our sport, especially at the Olympics. It's not just World Championships, where it's just hockey or hockey fans. It's a big platform for us. This game was live in Germany, too. It was a good time. It's a good advertisement for us. I hope we got some more fans. We're really just excited that we have a chance to play for a medal. This is a dream come true for us. We might need a few minutes here or a night to let it set and understand what we did here."

Sweden was widely expected to win a medal due to its collection of Swedish league and KHL talent, but it won't even have an opportunity to play for one.

Instead, Germany will take on Canada in the semis, with the winner going on to face the Russia team or Czech Republic for the gold medal.

Even if Germany loses its next two games and goes home without a medal, it has accomplished something special, and it should have a positive impact on German hockey in the future.

Men's Hockey: Canada 1, Finland 0

Canada outlasted Finland in a defensive battle Wednesday to score a 1-0 victory and advance to the semifinals.

Neither team was able to find the back of the net in the first two periods, but Maxim Noreau scored for Canada less than one minute into the third period, and that was all the offense the Canadians would need.

Mendes was impressed with how Canada was able to dig deep in a game where neither team was willing to give an inch:

Canada turned in a great defensive effort, and goalies Ben Scrivens and Kevin Poulin combined to register a shutout.

Scrivens left in the second period due to an injury, and it is unclear what his status is for Canada's semifinal clash with Germany.

Regardless of the goaltending situation, Canada has to feel good about the way its defense is playing after limited Finland to just 21 shots.

Despite the disappointing offensive showing for the Finns on Wednesday, Nashville Predators prospect Eeli Tolvanen had a tournament for the ages, per ESPN's Chris Peters:

Canada may have some issues in goal if Scrivens can't play, and its offense has been spotty, but team defense is what pushed the Canadians into the semifinals.

Additionally, Canada likely caught a big break with Germany beating Sweden, since the Swedes were a much tougher test on paper.

The Canadians can't afford to take the Germans lightly, but they are in ideal position when it comes to having a chance to play for Olympic gold.