Slovakia will play two more games in pursuit of a second straight podium finish in Olympic men's hockey. But are they underdogs? That depends on who you ask on the team.
MILAN, Italy - The Cinderella team of the Olympics continues its magical run. But don't call Slovakia an underdog anymore.
Not after earning a berth into the semifinal following a 6-2 win against Germany on Wednesday.
"Are we?" asked Slovakia forward Martin Pospisil when asked if they still feel like the surprise team of the tournament. "I don't think so. We have so much talent, we have so much hard-working guys. If everyone gives 100 percent, we are going to win against (any) team."
The tiny country, which boasts a population of 5.2 million, might only have seven NHLers participating at these Olympics. And yet, in a tournament flush with star power, Slovakia continues to punch above their weight.
First, it was a 4-1 win against Finland in the round-robin, which helped Slovakia claim the top seed in Group A. Then, it was a blowout win against Germany in the quarterfinal.
Now, with one more win, Slovakia can do something that few believed was possible and finish with a medal for the second straight Olympics.
"I can't be more proud of my players," said coach Vladimir Orszagh. "We've been a big underdog, and we were hoping to sneak into the quarterfinal. Now, we're in the semi."
Four years ago, Slovakia won a bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics. But that was in a tournament without NHL participation.
Juraj Slafkovsky, who had been on that 2022 team, scored a tournament-leading seven goals in seven games in Beijing. Once again, the Montreal Canadiens left winger is leading Slovakia with three goals and seven points in four games.
But on Wednesday, it was a full team effort that beat a German team that looked fatigued from having played in a qualifier game the day before.
"We came out flying," said Slafkovsky. "We had so many shots in the first period. We were trying to make them tired because we knew they had a back-to-back… our goalie was great again."
Slovakia took a 1-0 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the first period on a goal from San Jose Sharks forward Pavol Regenda. Slovakia added three more in the second period to put the game out of reach, before Germany finally found the back of the net. By then, the game was out of reach.
"If you're going to be successful, it can't just be about a couple of guys," said coach Orszagh. "Our team is not just about a couple of guys… every day, someone else is the hero."
Slovakia's goalie, Samuel Hlavaj, stopped 25 shots for the win.
With the semifinals being reseeded, the team would face the United States if there are no upsets.
But having made it this far, it feels like the country has already achieved its goal.
"It's already a huge success, when you look at other rosters and ours. It's really good. But we have two more games to prove ourselves," said Hlavaj.
"Hopefully, it's the start of something big."
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