USA wins, Slovakia takes Group B
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Team Slovakia clinched Group B despite losing 5-3 to Sweden after Finland beat Italy 11-0. Here's how the tiebreaker process worked.
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Juraj Slafkovsky scores twice as Slovakia upsets Finland 4-1 to open the Milan Cortina Olympics
MILAN (AP) — Juraj Slafkovsky had Slovakia's only two goals four years ago in the first men's hockey game at the Beijing Olympics, a convincing loss to Finland. Slafkovsky again scored twice in the tournament opener.
The Trencin native was overtaken by Juraj Slafkovsky and Simon Nemec at the 2022 NHL Draft at Bell Centre in Montreal. Slafkovsky, a forward, was chosen by the Montreal Canadiens with the No. 1 pick. Nemec, a defenseman, was taken by the New Jersey Devils at No. 2.
It’s been a lethargic start to the Olympics for Sweden’s men’s hockey club. As a recap: The Swedes let the Italians, who began the tournament with 100/1 gold medal odds, not only strike first, but settled for a 5-2 victory after spending 60 minutes of fruitless target practice.
Slovakia upset Finland on Wednesday, setting the stage for what could be a wild tournament in an age of increasing international parity.
In fact, it was Slovakia's third goal, by Dalibor Dvorsky with 39 seconds left in the third period that led to the wild celebration after the Group B preliminary round game.
The Slovakia men’s hockey team upset Finland 4-1 in Wednesday’s round robin opener at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. And thanks to the hockey game, a fugitive’s 16-year escape from authorities also came to an end.
Against all odds, and despite losing 5-3 to Sweden, Slovakia won Group B and is now waiting to learn who they'll face in the quarter-finals. Unsurprisingly, Juraj Slafkovsky played a key role and he's now leading all players in points at the tournament.
A late goal put Slovakia into the Olympic quarterfinals as the winner of Group B in a tiebreaker, even after losing 5-3 to Sweden.