The US’ inconceivable, unbeaten run via the Olympic males’s ice hockey event got here to a devastating halt on the quarter-final stage on Wednesday with a 3-2 penalty shootout defeat to Slovakia.
The youngest US males’s Olympic workforce in a long time appeared certain for the semi-finals after coming from behind for a 3rd straight contest to guide 2-1 with beneath a minute remaining. However Slovakian captain Marek Hrivic scored a game-tying objective with 43.7 seconds left and Peter Cehlarik broke a stalemate within the decisive shootout that adopted a scoreless additional time interval.
Slovakian goaltender Patrik Rybar, who made 33 saves within the match, was mobbed by his teammates in entrance of the objective after turning away Andy Miele’s remaining try within the shootout because the US workforce appeared on in shocked silence.
“It’s the medal spherical and also you’re going to get each workforce’s greatest,” mentioned Miele, the USA captain who fought via tears whereas fielding questions within the blended zone. “They put up a number of photographs and he made a number of large saves. We didn’t discover a strategy to rating extra objectives. It simply comes all the way down to that.”
The People arrived in Beijing with the youngest roster within the 12-team event, a gaggle together with 15 faculty college students and 5 youngsters swiftly assembled after the NHL withdrew from Olympic participation in December as a result of unfold of the Omicron variant, and a workforce who didn’t skate collectively till just a few weeks in the past.
However the US workforce upended expectations by successful all three of their preliminary-round video games to earn high seeding within the quarter-finals, stirring up the echoes of the ragtag group of fuzzy-faced amateurs who stormed via the Olympic event in 1980, upsetting the closely favoured Soviet Union alongside the best way within the storied Miracle on Ice.
Workforce USA’s high seeding earned them an additional day of relaxation over Slovakia, who took the ice for Wednesday’s quarter-final lower than 24 hours after Tuesday’s qualification play-off win over Germany. It appeared to indicate within the early phases because the People obtained off to a flying begin, forechecking with excessive depth and rattling off the primary 5 photographs on objective.
Nevertheless it was Slovakia’s Juraj Slafkovsky who drew first blood halfway via the opening body, drifting into the slot and firing a left-handed missile into the again of the web for his fifth objective of the event.
Undeterred after having conceded the opening objective of their earlier two wins towards Canada and Germany, the US equalized with lower than a minute to go within the opening interval when Harvard junior Nick Abruzzese made a slick transfer in entrance of the objective earlier than poking it via Rybar’s legs. The People then nosed forward halfway via the second interval when the St Cloud State College senior Sam Hentges opened his Olympic account.
“They performed excellent this complete event,” USA defenseman and alternate captain Steven Kampfer mentioned of the faculty gamers who made up greater than half of the workforce’s roster. “These younger guys have a fantastic future forward of them and I feel they know that. They’ve simply obtained to proceed to work arduous however the sky is the restrict for these children and that was evident on this event because it went on.”
The American lead stood till the ultimate minute when Hrivic, previously of the NHL’s New York Rangers and Calgary Flames, knocked a free puck previous USA goalie Strauss Mann with Slovakia staring down elimination and their goaltender off the ice, leaving Workforce USA to rue to their failure to money in on three power-play alternatives within the third interval, one among them a five-on-three benefit.
“That was actually powerful,” Kampfer mentioned. “I assumed we did job till that time, we did job defending. We knew that they have been discovering a number of pucks to the web on the finish and there’s one which will get free they usually get a stick on it. They tie the sport and obtained a bit of momentum.”
The US have been compelled to regroup rapidly for the ten–minute sudden-death additional time interval the place either side exchanged scoring possibilities however neither may break via. Solely Cehlarik managed to seek out the again of the web within the best-of-five shootout as Rybar turned away all 5 American makes an attempt.
“We couldn’t discover a strategy to get it by him,” Miele mentioned. “He’s an aggressive goalie and he did effectively tonight.”
College of Minnesota ahead Ben Meyers added: “We performed very well in our first three video games and that is our first dangerous sport. Now we're performed. I've no complaints in any respect about something. I’m simply disillusioned that we misplaced this time.”
Mann, the 23-year-old College of Michigan product who completed with 34 saves within the dropping effort, was amongst a number of US gamers each overcome by emotion after the shock defeat however grateful for the sudden journey.
“It was wonderful,” Mann mentioned. “It's in all probability the largest honour of my life to characterize our nation, play on the Olympic stage and simply be part of one thing larger than hockey. To get to know a number of nice guys, fill these relationships that can final a lifetime and assist unite the nation a bit of bit.”
Sweden, who knocked out a Canada facet additionally shorn of its NHL gamers, Finland and the Russian Olympic Commitee be a part of Slovakia within the semi-finals.
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