Dalibor Dvorsky turned in another brilliant performance at the Olympics, and Slovakia as a result will again play for a medal in men’s hockey.
Dvorsky had a goal and an assist, fellow NHL forward Pavol Regenda scored twice as part of his three-point game and Slovakia dominated Germany 6-2 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals.
Slovakia got an injury scare in the second period when top player and reigning Olympic MVP Juraj Slafkovsky went head-first into the boards and was slow to get up.
A trainer applied an ice pack to the back of Slafkovsky’s neck, and the 21-year-old emerging Montreal Canadiens star held it on himself when he got up to celebrate a goal scored while he was getting medical attention.
Slafkovsky returned not long after, but this victory showed what coaches and players have been saying since they arrived in Milan about needing a team to make a run rather than just relying on one person.
Slafkovsky was held off the scoresheet until assisting on captain Tomas Tatar’s empty-net goal with three minutes and 27 seconds left, and it did not matter.
Dvorsky, who plays for the St. Louis Blues, and Regenda, who split time between the San Jose Sharks and their American Hockey League affiliate this season, led the way offensively.
Dvorsky made the initial pass that led to Milos Kelemen’s goal and had a terrific individual effort to spring himself for his third goal at the Olympics.
Slovakia routs Germany to reach the men’s Olympic hockey semifinals
At the other end of the rink, Minnesota Wild goaltending prospect Samuel Hlavaj did his job, making 25 saves and allowing only goals to Lukas Reichel, off a feed from Leon Draisaitl, and to Frederik Tiffels on the power play.
Slovakia is four years removed from Slafkovsky scoring seven goals and leading it to bronze, the country’s first hockey medal of any colour at the Olympics. That was after the NHL pulled out of participating in Beijing at the eleventh hour because of pandemic-related scheduling issues.
This was supposed to be something of a learning experience tournament, with more hope for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey and the 2030 Games in the French Alps when some of Slovakia’s younger players had more experience.
Instead, coach Vladimir Orszagh’s team already exceeded expectations just by getting to this point.
“If somebody would have told us before the tournament, `You guys are going to the quarterfinal. You guys are going to jump ahead of the Finland and the Swedes,’ we would have probably told them that he’s crazy,” Orszagh said last weekend.
“But the guys work. They work hard every day. And that’s the biggest satisfaction for them.”
Slovakia as the No. 3 seed can face any of the U.S., Finland or Sweden in the semifinals Friday, depending on how the rest of the results go.
“They can move the puck really well,” U.S. defenceman Noah Hanifin said of the Swedes, who beat Latvia in the qualification playoff to reach the quarterfinals.
“I think for us it’s just about having a good start. They played last night. Just got to get on them early and kind of establish that physical game that makes us a good team. Play fast. It should be a lot of fun, though.”
Reigning Olympic champions Finland made a remarkable comeback to beat Switzerland 3-2 in overtime and reach the men’s ice hockey semi-finals at Milano Rho arena on Wednesday, with Artturi Lehkonen netting the winner.
Switzerland let a two-goal advantage slip away, which they had held from the opening period, as the Finns scored twice in the final period, including the equalizer with just over a minute left in regulation.
Lehkonen’s OT winner over Switzerland advances Finland to semis
In sudden death, Lehkonen kept his nerve in front of goal to end the contest just over three minutes into overtime.
Finland, who have medalled at four of the last five Games, came close to going home empty-handed. But it ended in jubilation as Lehkonen was swamped by his teammates after his ice-cool finish.
Finland and the other three semifinalists will be re-seeded, with the top seed playing the lowest and the second and third seeds facing off on Friday.
Slovakia and Canada booked their semi-final spots, with the United States playing Sweden later on Wednesday with the last final-four slot on the line.
