TURIN, Italy - Ready for some Italian ice? If you're in the mood for lemon, there's the American hockey team - their Turin performance is leaving a sour taste. Or try the tutti frutti of winter sports - curling, where the Americans can almost taste their first Olympic medal.

With closing ceremonies fast approaching, the U.S. skaters and sweepers head into the elimination round of competition Wednesday. The scoop on the curlers: They're squaring off against their North American rival Canada in the semifinals. The hockey team, after managing a single win in their first five games, hopes their medal chances don't melt away in the round of eight.

The curlers, lead by skip Pete Fenson, are a tight-knit bunch hailing from Minnesota. Their challenge comes in taking on the world's No. 1 curling empire; an estimated 94 percent of the world's curlers hail from Canada.

The hockey team broke out of its offensive slump Tuesday night only to collapse defensively, falling 5-4 to Russia and ensuring the one matchup the Americans hoped to avoid: a first-round showdown against undefeated Finland. There are three other semifinal matches, all appearing live on either the USA network or MSNBC.

The NBC prime time lineup runs from 8 p.m.-11:30 p.m., with the focus on the women's giant slalom, the women's 3,000 meter short track relay, the women's 1,500 meter speedskating and the men's snowboarding giant slalom. The speedskating could mark the final Olympic appearances of two past Olympic medalists, U.S. teammates Chris Witty and Jennifer Rodriguez.

The network also plans a preview of Thursday's final night of the women's figure skating, where U.S. skater Sasha Cohen has a slim lead over Russia's Irina Slutskaya following Tuesday's short program.

The U.S. hockey team, comprised entirely of NHL players, wound up just 1-3-1 through the preliminary round in Group B. More than half of their 13 goals were scored against weak teams from Kazakhstan and Latvia.

Things didn't look good for the Americans from the start in Turin. A huge snowstorm delayed their trip to Italy, and the jet-lagged team only had one practice before its first game.

The Americans finished fourth in their six-team Group B, ensuring they would face the best team in Group A: 5-0 Finland, which swept everyone - including defending gold medalist Canada.

In curling, the Americans won six of their nine round-robin games in the 10-team field to reach the semifinals. A Turin medal would be the first for the U.S. men, who are hoping to expand the popularity of their strangely enticing sport beyond the borders of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

If they can defeat Canada, they'll face the winner of the Britain-Finland semifinal. Look for curling action live on USA at 8 a.m., and later in the day at 5 p.m. on CNBC.

It's hardly a big day for U.S. individual medal hopes, even though seven golds will be awarded Wednesday.

There's the women's slalom: Lindsey Kildow has shown incredible perseverance in climbing out of a Turin hospital bed to compete, but the 21-year-old has acknowledged her best shot at a medal will come four years from now in Vancouver. The slalom is her fourth Turin race, a demonstration of Olympic courage.

Croatia's Janica Kostelic, already the winner of gold and silver in Turin, is chasing medal No. 3 in the event. She is the defending Olympic champion, and the most decorated female skier in Olympic history with a half-dozen overall medals.

Finals of the women's aerials will feature no U.S. competitors: Emily Cook finished 19th, three spots behind U.S. teammate Jana Lindsey in the qualifying round. Cook's brave comeback from an injury that sidelined her for two years ended with just two jumps in Turin.