Although NHL (National Hockey League) players representing the world's highest level of competition are unable to compete, U.S. men's hockey is still full of expectations for the Beijing Winter Olympics. The group stage's consecutive victories over Canada, Germany and the hosts, especially against rivals Canada, won 4-2, making public opinion once again pursue the United States.
But in its first knockout game, the U.S. men's ice hockey team was planted. After a 2-3 defeat to Slovakia, the United States was eliminated and ranked 5th, missing the medal. The U.S. men's skaters have finished in the quarterfinals for two consecutive Olympic Games, and the last time they reached the podium was at the Vancouver Winter Olympics 12 years ago.
On Christmas Eve last year, the NHL made the final decision not to send its players to the Winter Olympics because as many as 50 NHL games had been postponed due to the epidemic in North America, and the league had no longer scheduled the Olympic offseason. The PyeongChang Winter Olympics also did not have NHL players, when the U.S. team lineup was dominated by players playing in the Europa League; this time, U.S. hockey changed the way the team was built, with NCAA college players as the main body, supplemented by the AHL (American Hockey League) equivalent to the development league or sub-league and Europa League players – as many as 14 of the 26 players were from the NCAA, the youngest U.S. men's ice hockey team in nearly three decades.
The young American team did show vigor and considerable combat effectiveness in the game, and the team was the only team in the group stage to win three consecutive wins in regular time. In this knockout match against Slovakia, the United States is actually less than 44 seconds away from qualifying. In the final moments of the third quarter, Slovakia, who were 1-2 behind, launched a desperate counterattack, replaced the goalkeeper with the advantage of one more person, attacked with full force, and finally equalized by forward Marek Hrivik. The 30-year-old Slovak played in AHL and NHL for nine years before returning to European ice in 2018.
"It was disappointing. For most of the game, we were the better side. You just have a little deficiency and are caught by the opponent. Campfer, 33, the oldest player on the U.S. team, played 11 seasons in the NHL before joining the Russian club six months later. He was clearly very disappointed by the loss in the final moments, "The young people on our team will have a great future, and then they will come back here to represent the United States [at the Olympics]. But this time, there will be a little sting for all of us. ”
The U.S. team does look stronger than Slovakia. Although the first goal was conceded after the opening, the Americans quickly tied the score in the first quarter, taking a lead in the first half of the second quarter, and then having several opportunities to kill the game early, hitting the goalpost and gaining a 5-3 advantage in 1 minute 23 seconds... But in the end, luck was on the side of the Slovaks.
The two sides ended the regular time 2-2, the extra time was still exchanged, and in the brutal penalty shootout, only Slovakia's Peter Cekhlarek scored in five rounds of mutual shooting, and the final score was fixed at 3-2, slovakia won. 'Our goalkeeper coach edited some american goalkeeper save videos, let's take a closer look at his habitual movements, and we came prepared." Coincidentally, Cekhlarek, who scored the only penalty, was also gilded in the NHL for four years, and of course, canadian coach Craig Ramsey, who coached Slovakia for four years, was an NHL star who made thousands of appearances.
Since independence, the Slovak ice hockey team has participated in all eight Winter Olympics, but only reached the final four in Vancouver in 2010. Now, the team sees further possibilities - if it can beat Russia in the semi-final on the 18th, the Slovak men's ice hockey team will hold an Olympic medal for the first time. "We've got to take a break now, catch my breath and go back and continue training." As for how to deal with the Russian Olympic team, which may be stronger than the United States, Ramsey said: "My Stanley Cup (NHL championship) ring is engraved with 'safety is death' – I believe that sentence. We like to rush out, attack, and shoot hard, and find our way to win. ”
Author: Shen Lei
Editor: Shen Xiangsha