Slovakia continues magical Olympic hockey run, will play for a medal after bouncing Germany

MILAN — Of all of the outstanding issues that occurred throughout Slovakia’s 6-2 quarterfinal victory over Germany on Wednesday afternoon, maybe probably the most spectacular feat belonged to the Slovak athletic coach, who deftly managed to maintain an ice pack on the nation’s most necessary neck as Juraj Slafkovský leapt to his ft in celebration of Milos Kelemen’s second-period aim.

Moments earlier, Slafkovský, the 21-year-old rising celebrity who has put Slovakia again on the hockey map, had gone head-first into the boards, partially from his personal momentum, partially from a nudge from a Moritz Seider fly-by. Slafkovský lay flat on the ice, face down, for a number of seconds earlier than slowly getting up and trudging again to the bench, the place he acquired a fast neck rub and an ice pack. A hockey-loving nation, which has been ready for a participant like this — for a workforce like this — for the reason that days of Marián Hossa, Zdeno Chára, Peter Bondra, Pavol Demitra, Ziggy Palffy and Marián Gaborik, held its collective breath.

Then Kelemen went inside and outside round German defenseman Lukas Kälble, sending the pretzeled German off his ft and the followers at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena — and Slafkovský — onto theirs with a slick backhander over Philipp Grubauer’s outstretched glove. Thirty-three seconds later, Oliver Okuliar made it 3-0, and the rout was on.

Slovakia is again. Back within the highlight. Back to worldwide relevance. Back to enjoying for medals.

“I still kind of can’t believe we made it to (the) top four,” Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry mentioned. “Obviously, I believed in our group, but this tournament — NHL players, stars on the other teams — it seems a little bit unreal. I’m just so happy and excited. I never really made it to (the) top four at some big tournament.”

Slovakia is definitely the defending Olympic bronze medalist after a stirring run in Beijing in 2022. But that event was held with out followers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and with out NHL gamers. This is one thing completely totally different, and it is a stunning efficiency from a younger workforce that is not less than 4 years forward of schedule.

The upstart Slovaks, by far the story of this in any other case milquetoast event, will face both the United States or the winner of Wednesday’s Switzerland-Finland recreation within the semifinals on Friday, and are assured to play in a medal recreation. When the event started, the considered one other bronze medal was nearly laughable, a long-term aim that simply did not appear lifelike but for this younger group of gamers, most of whom stay in relative anonymity in leagues within the Czech Republic or Switzerland.

Now, they’re fascinated with gold. Why the heck not?

“Yeah, for sure,” New Jersey Devils defenseman Šimon Nemec mentioned. “If we’re in the semifinal, you have to think about that.”

That Slafkovský was on the bench for the 33-second span that turned this recreation from a taut affair to a laugher should not be neglected. Slafkovský, the Montreal Canadiens winger who was the NHL’s No. 1 draft choose in 2022, has gotten the lion’s share of the eye in these Games, and understandably so. He’s a real star and a big-game performer, with 10 objectives in 10 Olympic video games coming into the quarterfinals. He’s the hope of a nation.

But he isn’t alone. Against a German workforce with excessive expectations and a a lot increased degree of expertise — Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stützle, JJ Peterka, Seider, Grubauer — Slovakia had a complete workforce effort to advance to the semis. St. Louis Blues rookie Dalibor Dvorský has been constantly wonderful in Milan and has three objectives and three assists in 4 video games after including one in every of every towards Germany. San Jose Sharks rookie Pavol Regenda had two objectives and an help as nicely. Nemec has been dynamic on the again finish. Samuel Hlavaj, who struggled so mightily within the American Hockey League this season that the Minnesota Wild demoted him to the ECHL for a recreation — has been a rock in web, with a .932 save proportion in three begins.

And the remainder of the principally nameless Slovaks — solely seven are within the NHL — have utterly purchased in on a sensible, bodily, conservative-but-opportunistic workforce recreation that has allowed them to stun Finland within the opener, survive a scare from Italy, then give mighty Sweden a tricky recreation within the group-stage finale. In that Sweden recreation, the Slovaks scored a late aim that made them lose successfully a win, because it gave them the sting in aim differential, which means a Group B victory and a bye into the quarterfinals.

“It’s not going to be about Slafkovský or Nemec or other guys,” Slovakia coach Vladimir Országh mentioned. “If we want to be successful, we can’t be about a couple guys. And our team is not about a couple guys. Our team is about 25 guys we have on the roster. They work, they stick together on the ice and every day someone else is a hero. But for me, all the guys are heroes.”

Not solely are the Slovaks enjoying nicely, however they’re additionally enjoying free. They appear to be having extra enjoyable than another workforce within the event, from their foolish aim songs to their joke-filled press scrums.

Turns out, enjoying hockey with your mates is enjoyable.

“I don’t know how many games we’ve played together. We played so many games together,” Nemec mentioned. “We know each other and it’s more fun to play if you know the guys, if you grow up with them. Like me, Juraj, Dalibor — we are really good friends. Then it’s easier to play with them.”

“We play the sport we love, right?” Dvorský added. “We should “be having fun playing it, and we are.”

On the opposite facet, the Germans have been in nearly disbelief. Given their star energy and expectations, the 2026 Olympics have been nothing wanting a catastrophe for Germany, which introduced its deepest roster ever to Milan.

“I think we threw way too many pucks away,” Stützle mentioned by means of gritted tooth. “Especially if we had them in the O-zone, we were shooting into way too many blocks. It happened a lot this tournament, where we kind of got out-chanced in the second period, where they get two-on-one, three-on-one breaks. We did it again today.”

It was speculated to be Germany or the Czech Republic or Switzerland that upended this event. But it was Slovakia who crashed the occasion. And given the age and dynamic nature of their workforce — Slafkovský is 21, Dvorský is 20, Nemec is 22, Regenda, Martin Pospíšil and Martin Fehérváry are 26, Hlavaj is 24 — it will be the final time they’re neglected.

The upstarts are simply beginning up.

“Coming into the tournament, seeing the roster, I don’t think anybody believed us,” Regenda mentioned. “And probably neither did we. … In a tournament like underdogs can bite really hard, so we are really happy where we are right now. Top four, unbelievable.”