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7 to Watch Monday: Maddie, Mind Games and the Chance at a Miracle

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Here are our "7 to Watch" in Pyeongchang for Monday: 

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News 4 New York
Brian O'Neill #9 of the United States celebrates with teammates Jonathon Blum and Garrett Roe #11 after scoring a goal on Gasper Kroselj #32 of Slovenia in the first period during the Men's Ice Hockey Preliminary Round Group B game on day five of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics at Kwandong Hockey Centre on Feb. 14, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea.

1. Team USA Men’s Hockey Beats Slovakia, Moves on to Quarterfinals

The United States’ men’s hockey defeated Slovakia 5-1 Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Next, Team USA will face the Czech Republic on Wednesday night (Tuesday in the U.S.). 

The Americans beat Slovakia 2-1 in group play last week. It was America’s only win in group play. With National Hockey League players absent in the Olympics, Team USA is comprised of mostly college kids who failed to make it into the professional league.

2. Team USA's Sigourney Takes Bronze in Freeski Halfpipe; Canada’s Sharpe Wins Gold

Cassie Sharpe of Canada held off a strong field on Tuesday to win gold in women's freeski halfpipe at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Marie Martinod of France took silver, while Team USA's Brita Sigourney earned bronze.

Defending Olympic champion Maddie Bowman was unable to replicate her Sochi success. She fell on all three of her runs and finished 11th. Annalisa Drew of Team USA finished fourth.

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Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
South Korea's Shim Sukhee takes part in the women's 3,000m relay short track speed skating heat event during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games, at the Gangneung Ice Arena in Gangneung on Feb. 10, 2018.

3. S. Korea Wins 3,000m Relay in Wild, Penalty-Heavy Finish 

South Korea continued its dominance in the 3,000-meter short track women’s relay Tuesday, with two-time world champion Choi Min-jeong and three-time Olympic medalist Shim Suk-hee leading the country to its sixth of the eight Olympic gold medals that have been awarded.

But the latest victory came in controversial fashion. A Korean skater fell after a push-off, knocking down a Canadian skater. China and Canada, the teams that crossed the finish line in second and third, were penalized, knocking off them off the podium for a race that both had led.

Italy was promoted to silver and the Netherlands, which set a world record in the B final, was moved up to bronze. 

4. Backs Against the Wall, Women’s Curlers Face Sweden

The United States women’s curling team has never won an Olympic medal and it finished last in the previous two Olympics. But with a win over Sweden, the Americans could complete a stunning turnaround and advance to the medal round.

The top four teams move out of round-robin play to the semifinal round, with tie-breaker games determining the semi-finalists, if necessary. With one game left to play, the U.S had a 4-4 record, tied for fifth place with China.

Sweden has been one of the better teams in the tournament, with a 5-2 record, but Swedes lost its last two matches. 

Watch on digital platforms at 3:05 a.m. PT Wednesday at this link or as part of CNBC’s coverage at 2 p.m. PT Wednesday. 

5. Canada Wins Gold in Ice Dance; 'Shib Sibs' Take Bronze

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada won gold in the ice dance, and knocked Team USA’s Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue into fourth place, with a record score of 206.07 points on Tuesday.

But the United States didn’t go without a medal in the event — sibling duo Maia and Alex Shibutani earned bronze. The "Shib Sibs" performed a strong free skate to a medley of Coldplay songs.

France’s Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron took silver. The French pair broke their own world record for a free dance with 123.35 points to “Moonlight Sonata.” But Virtue and Moir answered back, beating France with a new best, 122.40 points.

6. Mikaela Shiffrin Pulls Out of Women's Downhill

Mikaela Shiffrin will not race in the women's downhill event at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, the United States Ski Team confirmed Monday morning. It's the second consecutive event that Shiffrin has opted not to enter.

Her schedule for the rest of the Games is still unconfirmed, but she plans to enter the super combined (moved up to Thursday). She had previously indicated that she is unlikely to enter the team event (set for Friday), but that remains a possibility.

According to the U.S. Ski Team, with the super combined moved up a day, Shiffrin will skip Wednesday's downhill event in order to focus on the combined.

Shiffrin, 22, succeeded in taking gold in her first event, giant slalom, on Feb. 14, but was unable to defend her 2014 Sochi gold in the slalom the next day. After an evening medal ceremony and plenty of media interviews, she finished off the podium in fourth in what is considered her favorite event.

7. Lindsey Vonn Not Opposed to Playing Mind Games

Lindsey Vonn slowed herself down so she wouldn’t clock the fastest time in downhill training, later admitting that she likes to play mind games in training.

Vonn clocked the fastest time in Saturday’s downhill training run. But she went out of her way not to let that happen again in Sunday’s training run.

As Vonn approached the finish, she stood up out of her crouch and extended her arms, purposely slowing herself down.

“I actually didn’t want to win the training run today,” Vonn said on NBC. “I like letting other people think that they are faster.”

See the clip at this link. 

Another training run is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. PT. The race is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT.

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