American freeskier Hunter Hess flashed an “L” hand signal after finishing his Olympic halfpipe qualifying run Friday, an apparent nod to President Donald Trump’s criticism of the Olympian, who previously said he had “mixed emotions” about representing the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Games.

Hess shaped his index finger and thumb to form the letter “L” and raised his hand to his forehead after finishing his run. 

“Apparently,” he explained, according to The Associated Press. “I’m a loser.”

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The remark was a reference to Trump’s earlier criticism of Hess, in which the president called him a “real loser” in a social media post following Hess’ controversial remarks about representing the United States at the Olympics under the current administration.

 “I worked so hard to be here. I sacrificed my entire life to make this happen,” Hess said Friday. “I’m not going to let controversy like that get in my way. I love the United States of America. I cannot say that enough. My original statement, I felt like I said that, but apparently people didn’t take it that way. I’m so happy to be here, so happy to represent Team USA.”

Hess was among a group of U.S. freestyle skiers and other American athletes to address their thoughts on representing the U.S. at Milan Cortina. During a press conference before his events, Hess said he had “mixed emotions” about it.

Hunter Hess of the United States reacts while competing in the Men’s Freeski Halfpipe Final during the Toyota US Grand Prix 2025 at Copper Mountain on Dec. 20, 2025 in Copper Mountain, Colorado. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

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“It brings up mixed emotions to represent the U.S. right now, I think. It’s a little hard. There’s obviously a lot going on that I’m not the biggest fan of, and I think a lot of people aren’t,” he began. 

“I think, for me, it’s more I’m representing my friends and family back home, the people that represented it before me, all the things that I believe are good about the U.S. If it aligns with my moral values, I feel like I’m representing it. Just because I’m wearing the flag doesn’t mean I represent everything that’s going on in the U.S.

“I just kind of want to do it for my friends and my family and the people that support me getting here.”

President Donald Trump responded to his remarks in a social media post at the time calling Hess a “real loser.” 

Hunter Hess, of the United States, executes a trick in the halfpipe finals during the World Cup U.S. Grand Prix freestyle skiing event in Copper Mountain, Colorado, Dec. 17, 2022. (AP Photo/Hugh Carey, File)

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“U.S. Olympic Skier, Hunter Hess, a real Loser, says he doesn’t represent his Country in the current Winter Olympics,” he wrote. “If that’s the case, he shouldn’t have tried out for the Team, and it’s too bad he’s on it. Very hard to root for someone like this. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Hess said Friday that he stands by what he initially said, but added, “It means the absolute world to me to be able to represent Team USA here. I worked so, so hard to get here. I stick with what I said.”

Hess is one of four Americans that qualified for the 12-man halfpipe final on Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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There are only four games left in the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Olympic Games.

On Friday, the two semifinal matchups will determine which two nations face off for gold, and which will compete for bronze:

• No. 1 Canada vs. No. 4 Finland, 10:40 a.m. ET

• No. 2 USA vs. No. 3 Slovakia, 3:10 p.m. ET

The bronze medal game will be held Saturday at 2:40 p.m. ET, while the gold medal game will be Sunday at 8:10 a.m. ET.

Players from all 32 NHL teams are represented with at least one player among the final four clubs remaining. Team USA has the largest number of teams represented (18), while Finland has the most players from a single franchise (four from the Dallas Stars).

Read more: Biggest surprises of the tournament | Inside U.S. women’s win | Future is bright for women’s hockey

Follow along live for all the goals and top moments from both semifinals here.

With selection day for the NCAA men’s hockey tournament about a month away, it’s time to look at the contenders for the field of 16, from teams on the bubble to those playing for No. 1 seeds.

Six automatic bids to the NCAA tournament will be awarded to the winners of the six conference tournaments, with championship games scheduled for March 20 and 21. Ten more teams will earn at-large spots determined by the NPI formula, which replaces the PairWise rankings this season. Every game can impact the NPI rankings, which factor in strength of schedule, home/road splits and overtime results.

Once the NCAA field is set, the four regional brackets will be announced March 22. Regional games will be played March 26-29; the sites are Albany, New York; Loveland, Colorado; Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Worcester, Massachusetts. The Frozen Four will be held April 9 and 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Every game of the NCAA tournament, and the selection show, will be available on ESPN networks and the ESPN App.

Here’s a look at the NCAA contenders, listed with their NPI rankings, key results and remaining regular-season schedules.

NPI rankings as of Feb. 20.

Frozen Four or bust

Michigan State and Michigan have been at or near the top of the rankings all season as the top teams in the best conference in the country. North Dakota and Western Michigan are not far behind as their counterparts in the always-rugged NCHC.

No. 1 Michigan State

Record: 23-6-0, 14-5-0 Big Ten

Key results: The Spartans have won six of their last seven games, including a 5-2 win over Michigan on Feb. 7. Michigan State lost 4-3 in overtime at Michigan on Feb. 6.

Remaining schedule: vs. Notre Dame on Friday; vs. Ohio State Feb. 27-28; at Minnesota March 5-6

No. 2 Michigan

Record: 24-5-1, 15-4-1 Big Ten

Key results: The Wolverines took five of six points in a weekend series with Penn State on Feb. 13-14 and split four meetings with Michigan State on the season.

Remaining schedule: at Wisconsin on Friday, Saturday; vs. Minnesota Feb. 26-27

No. 3 North Dakota

Record: 23-7-0, 15-5-0 NCHC

Key results: NoDak is 8-4 against ranked teams this season, splitting four games with Minnesota Duluth and a pair against Denver in January.

Remaining schedule: vs. St. Cloud State on Friday, Saturday; at Western Michigan Feb. 27-28

No. 4 Western Michigan

Record: 22-8-0, 14-6-0 NCHC

Key results: The defending national champs are 12-2 since Christmas, including wins over Boston College and Wisconsin in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off and a two-game sweep at Denver.

Remaining schedule: at Colorado College on Friday, Saturday; vs. North Dakota Feb. 27-28

Rock-solid

The four teams in this tier should be sure to keep their calendars clear for the last weekend of March. It is hard to craft scenarios where they miss the NCAA tournament.

No. 5 Penn State

Record: 18-9-1, 10-7-1 Big Ten

Key results: The Nittany Lions are 17-3-0 against teams not named Michigan and Michigan State, but 1-6-1 against the Big Ten’s two top teams. Two of those losses came in overtime, but Penn State needs to show it can beat the best.

Remaining schedule: vs. Ohio State on Friday, Saturday; at Notre Dame Feb. 27-28; vs. Wisconsin March 5-6

No. 6 Quinnipiac

Record: 24-5-3, 15-2-1 ECAC

Key results: The Bobcats are 12-1-1 since the calendar flipped to 2026, with the lone loss to UConn. Quinnipiac has outscored its opponents 78-22 over that span. The only question for the Bobcats is their strength of schedule, which ranks 47th.

Remaining schedule: vs. Cornell on Friday; vs. Colgate on Saturday; at Dartmouth Feb. 27; at Harvard Feb. 28

No. 7 Providence

Record: 19-8-2, 14-4-1 Hockey East

Key results: The Friars had a nine-game winning streak snapped Feb. 13 against Northeastern. The run included wins over ranked conference foes Maine, Boston University and Boston College.

Remaining schedule: at Vermont on Friday, Saturday; vs. New Hampshire Feb. 27; at New Hampshire Feb. 28; vs. UConn March 7

No. 8 Denver

Record: 19-11-3, 15-6-1 NCHC

Key results: Denver is unbeaten in its past seven games (6-0-1), including a two-game sweep of Minnesota Duluth. The Pios have rebounded after opening January with a 1-5-1 stretch against Maine, Western Michigan and North Dakota.

Remaining schedule: vs. Arizona State Feb. 27-28

Looking good

These four teams are in good shape to make the field, but they can’t be complacent. A sloppy finish to the regular season would crank up the pressure come conference tournament time.

No. 9 Minnesota Duluth

Record: 18-12-0, 9-11-0 NCHC

Key results: The Bulldogs are coming off a tough stretch of their schedule, dropping five of six against Western Michigan, Denver and North Dakota. Still, UMD has wins over Western Michigan and NoDak (two) on its résumé.

Remaining schedule: at Miami (Ohio) on Friday, Saturday; vs. Colorado College Feb. 27-28

No. 10 Cornell

Record: 17-7-1, 12-5-1 ECAC

Key results: The Big Red were rolling, winning 11 of 12, before going 0-2-1 in their last three games. Cornell yielded an average of two goals per game in its hot streak.

Remaining schedule: at Quinnipiac on Friday; at Princeton on Saturday; vs. St. Lawrence Feb. 27; vs. Clarkson Feb. 28

No. 11 Dartmouth

Record: 17-7-2, 11-5-2 ECAC

Key results: Dartmouth’s place in the NCAA field is on the strength of its 11-0 start. The Big Green have been sub-.500 since, but have a chance to boost their standing when Quinnipiac comes to town.

Remaining schedule: at RPI on Friday; at Union on Saturday; vs. Quinnipiac Feb. 27; vs. Princeton Feb. 28

No. 12 UConn

Record: 17-7-4, 11-5-2 Hockey East

Key results: The Huskies took five of six points at Maine on Feb. 13 and 14, and beat Quinnipiac on Jan. 24, putting them in strong position to make the NCAA field. The rest of their schedule includes five games against top-four teams in Hockey East, so they must remain sharp.

Remaining schedule: at Boston College on Friday; vs. Boston College on Saturday; vs. UMass Feb. 27; at UMass Feb. 28; vs. New Hampshire March 5; at Providence March 7

In the field — for now

The cutline in the NPI rankings for making the NCAA field figures to be at No. 15, as the Atlantic champ will earn an automatic bid and claim the 16th seed. As of Feb. 19, these teams are on the right side of the bubble, but that could change with any slip-ups.

No. 13 St. Thomas

Record: 18-9-3, 15-5-2 CCHA

Key results: St. Thomas rode an 11-game winning streak prior to losing two of its last three games. The Tommies don’t have a big margin for error, as there’s a chance the CCHA will be limited to one bid.

Remaining schedule: vs. Augustana on Friday, Saturday; at Bemidji State Feb. 27-28

No. 14 Boston College

Record: 17-10-1, 11-7-0 Hockey East

Key results: The biggest result to date for Eagles fans was BC’s win over Boston University for the program’s first Beanpot title in 10 years. Overall the Eagles’ season has been a bit uneven, but they have opportunities to solidify their status.

Remaining schedule: vs. UConn on Friday; at UConn on Saturday; at Boston University Feb. 27; vs. BU Feb. 28; at UMass March 5; vs. Northeastern March 7

No. 15 Wisconsin

Record: 18-10-2, 11-9-0 Big Ten

Key results: The Badgers got off to a fantastic start this season, splitting two games at Michigan and winning twice at Michigan State, and were No. 3 in NPI at the start of 2026. But six straight losses in January, plus a brutal closing stretch in the regular season, has Wisconsin in a precarious spot.

Remaining schedule: vs. Michigan on Friday, Saturday; at Penn State March 5-6

Bentley/Atlantic champ

Record: 17-9-5, 15-4-4 Atlantic; No. 28 in NPI

Key results: The 16th spot in the NCAA field most likely will be filled by the Atlantic Hockey champion, with Bentley closing in on the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. The Falcons’ best weekend of the season, based on NPI, was taking five of six points against Princeton (currently No. 32) in late January.

Remaining schedule: at RIT on Friday; vs. Air Force Feb. 27-28

Work to do

Teams in this tier have between an 18% and 23% chance of making the NCAA field as either an automatic qualifier or at-large team, according to collegehockeynews.com projections. Four of these teams are in the CCHA’s logjam, where head-to-head matchups will be huge. The at-large hopes aren’t great, but we’re saying there’s a chance — and there’s always the conference tournament to fall back on.

Minnesota State

Record: 16-9-5, 12-7-3 CCHA; No. 16 in NPI

Key results: The Mustangs are 5-5 in 2026, going 1-3 against fellow CCHA bubble teams St. Thomas, Michigan Tech and Augustana in that stretch.

Remaining schedule: at Bowling Green on Friday, Saturday; vs. Northern Michigan Feb. 27-28

Augustana

Record: 19-10-3, 13-8-3 CCHA; No. 17 in NPI

Key results: After going 9-1 in January, the Vikings are 1-3 in February with a two-game set at St. Thomas sure to play a key role in their NCAA hopes.

Remaining schedule: at St. Thomas on Friday, Saturday

Michigan Tech

Record: 21-10-3, 16-5-3 CCHA; No. 18 in NPI

Key results: At 9-2-1 since Jan. 9, the Huskies are the hottest of the CCHA contenders.

Remaining schedule: vs. Bowling Green Feb. 27-28

Bowling Green

Record: 16-8-6, 13-6-3 CCHA; No. 19 in NPI

Key results: In addition to holding their own against the best of CCHA, the Falcons went 1-0-1 against Ohio State and 2-0 against Princeton.

Remaining schedule: vs. Minnesota State on Friday, Saturday; at Michigan Tech Feb. 27-28

UMass

Record: 17-11-0, 10-8-0 Hockey East; No. 20 in NPI

Key results: After a sluggish start to the season, the Minutemen have won eight of their past nine games. They have a chance to move higher in NPI with two games against UConn and one against Boston College.

Remaining schedule: vs. New Hampshire on Friday; at New Hampshire on Saturday; at UConn Feb. 27; vs. UConn Feb. 28; vs. Boston College March 5; at New Hampshire March 7