MILAN – Sweden is undaunted ahead of a blockbuster quarterfinal meeting ⁠with the United States on Wednesday, as the team wearing the three crowns grasps for more gold in an Olympic men’s ice hockey showdown few expected this early.

Sweden was widely favored to win its group and earn a ​bye to the quarterfinals, along with Canada and the United ‌States, but ‌was forced to contend in a qualification play-off ​after slipping to the seventh seed out of the preliminary stage.

It was a rare shock in a men’s tournament that has largely stuck ⁠to the script in Milan, and Sweden swiftly shook off the disappointment to dispatch ⁠Latvia 5-1 on Tuesday and book its trip to the last eight.

“It doesn’t matter how you get here, we’re ​here now,” said forward Adrian ⁠Kempe. Its lone group-stage defeat to Finland put it on thin ice and Slovakia sent it into the ⁠qualification play-off on ​goal differential in a competitive group that had ​reporters reaching for calculators to keep up with the tiebreak ​math. ‌But It showed another level at just the right time against Latvia, where it scored in quick succession in the first period and went on cruise control from there.

National Hockey League fans have ‌been dreaming of a gold-medal game between Canada and the United States ever since the top-flight league announced it would return to the Olympic stage after a 12-year absence.

But Sweden will be all too happy to play the ​spoiler, ​as it hit another gear in its Milan campaign ​to win gold for the first time since the Games were last ⁠in Italy 20 years ago in Turin.

“It’s going to be a tough challenge but one we’re prepared for,” said Mika Zibanejad, who will see his New York Rangers teammates J.T. Miller and ​Vincent Trocheck on the other side of the ice and his NHL coach behind the U.S. bench in the meeting.

“Little by little it’s been getting better, so that’s a good sign.”