photo: Andre Ringuette/IIHF
Juraj Slafkovsky picked up where he left off in 2022, scoring two goals and adding an assist to lead Slovakia to to 4-1 win over Finland in the first game of the men's Olympic tournament. The 2022 MVP, who scored seven goals as a 17-year-old four years ago, scored the opening goal in the first and the insurance goal in the third against the defending Olympic gold medallists.
He scored twice against the Finns in the preliminary round in Beijing as well, although he was shut out in the semi-finals, a 2-0 Finland win. Slafkovsky now has nine goals in eight career games at the Olympics.
It was Slovakia's first Olympic win over Finland in four games during their brief history. The Finns have to look back and rue events of the first two periods. They had much the better of play and generated most of the scoring chances, but they couldn beat Samuel Hlavaj, who was excellent throughout, only once. Shots favoured the Finns, 40-25.
Both teams are back in action again on Friday. Suomi will take on their classic rivals Tre Kronor, while the Slovaks and Italians will meet in the later game.
"I think we had a lot of chances," said Joel Armia. "Obviously, we can't be happy with the loss, but we created enough chances to win this game and kind of take over. But we just didn't. So that sucks, but it's one game, and there's plenty more."
"He's a great player having a great season," said Adam Ruzicka, linemate of Slafkovsky. "I know what to expect from him, what kind of player he is. I play my game and try to join him and help him be successful. I think we're going to feed off each other. But it's just one game. We'll enjoy it now, and tomorrow we'll focus on the next game."
The first period did not lack for excitement, but despite having a heavy advantage in shots, the Finns found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 score after 20 minutes. They got the first good scoring chance of the game off a giveaway, but Sebastian Aho’s quick shot in front was kicked out by Hlavaj.
And that’s how it went for the Finns all period. Aho set up Artturi Lehkonen in front, but he fired into the goalie’s midsection. Moments later, Lehkonen was set up by Miro Heiskanen to Hlavaj’s right, but again he was foiled by Hlavaj.
And then, with their first decent chance, the Slovaks struck. Slafkovsky picked off a poor pass from Mikko Lehtonen along the boards and moved to the goal. He outwaited Juuse Saros, who gambled and came out too far, and tucked the puck into the open cage at 7:45.
The Finns dominated the rest of the period but couldn’t beat Hlavaj. The one time they did, Kaapo Kakko hit the crossbar from a bad angle and with Hlavaj, playing the pass across, down on one knee. Shots were 18-5 Finland, but the more important number was the score 1-0, and that favoured Slovakia.
Joel Armia incurred a roughing penalty at the end of the period for knocking down Simon Nemec behind the goal after the whistle, but Slovakia did little with the power play on fresh ice. The Finns then had a chance of their own, and connected.
Armia found Eeli Tolvanen to the back of the play just as the Slovak penalty expired, and Tolvanen’ shot found the mark at 4:15. The Finns poured it on and were again the better team, but this was the only goal of the middle 20.
"We should’ve scored a couple of goals in the second period," admitted Mikko Rantanen. "We tied the game, and they iced the puck a few times so we had good pressure in their zone but pressure’s not enough, you need to score. Naturally, everyone’s trying to do the best they can, but their goalie made several good saves. We need to get to the front of the net more, and score some ugly goals. I think we controlled the game, had puck control and a lot of offensive zone time, but it’s not the o-zone time that counts."
Disheartened, Finland didn't have much gas in the tank in the third and Slovakia happily guarded Hlavaj's crease more effectively.
The Finns added an empty netter from Adam Ruzicka at 17:39.
"It was amazing out there," said Oliver Okuliar. "Hot and amazing! Good pace to the game. We played to our structure, and that's how we won the game. The whole country cheers for us, and even more when we win a big game like this. They have an NHL roster and we don't, but we compete, and we competed really well today. It says something about our team and our culture, how we are together. We are proud of this win."
He scored twice against the Finns in the preliminary round in Beijing as well, although he was shut out in the semi-finals, a 2-0 Finland win. Slafkovsky now has nine goals in eight career games at the Olympics.
It was Slovakia's first Olympic win over Finland in four games during their brief history. The Finns have to look back and rue events of the first two periods. They had much the better of play and generated most of the scoring chances, but they couldn beat Samuel Hlavaj, who was excellent throughout, only once. Shots favoured the Finns, 40-25.
Both teams are back in action again on Friday. Suomi will take on their classic rivals Tre Kronor, while the Slovaks and Italians will meet in the later game.
"I think we had a lot of chances," said Joel Armia. "Obviously, we can't be happy with the loss, but we created enough chances to win this game and kind of take over. But we just didn't. So that sucks, but it's one game, and there's plenty more."
"He's a great player having a great season," said Adam Ruzicka, linemate of Slafkovsky. "I know what to expect from him, what kind of player he is. I play my game and try to join him and help him be successful. I think we're going to feed off each other. But it's just one game. We'll enjoy it now, and tomorrow we'll focus on the next game."
The first period did not lack for excitement, but despite having a heavy advantage in shots, the Finns found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 score after 20 minutes. They got the first good scoring chance of the game off a giveaway, but Sebastian Aho’s quick shot in front was kicked out by Hlavaj.
And that’s how it went for the Finns all period. Aho set up Artturi Lehkonen in front, but he fired into the goalie’s midsection. Moments later, Lehkonen was set up by Miro Heiskanen to Hlavaj’s right, but again he was foiled by Hlavaj.
And then, with their first decent chance, the Slovaks struck. Slafkovsky picked off a poor pass from Mikko Lehtonen along the boards and moved to the goal. He outwaited Juuse Saros, who gambled and came out too far, and tucked the puck into the open cage at 7:45.
The Finns dominated the rest of the period but couldn’t beat Hlavaj. The one time they did, Kaapo Kakko hit the crossbar from a bad angle and with Hlavaj, playing the pass across, down on one knee. Shots were 18-5 Finland, but the more important number was the score 1-0, and that favoured Slovakia.
Joel Armia incurred a roughing penalty at the end of the period for knocking down Simon Nemec behind the goal after the whistle, but Slovakia did little with the power play on fresh ice. The Finns then had a chance of their own, and connected.
Armia found Eeli Tolvanen to the back of the play just as the Slovak penalty expired, and Tolvanen’ shot found the mark at 4:15. The Finns poured it on and were again the better team, but this was the only goal of the middle 20.
"We should’ve scored a couple of goals in the second period," admitted Mikko Rantanen. "We tied the game, and they iced the puck a few times so we had good pressure in their zone but pressure’s not enough, you need to score. Naturally, everyone’s trying to do the best they can, but their goalie made several good saves. We need to get to the front of the net more, and score some ugly goals. I think we controlled the game, had puck control and a lot of offensive zone time, but it’s not the o-zone time that counts."
Disheartened, Finland didn't have much gas in the tank in the third and Slovakia happily guarded Hlavaj's crease more effectively.
The Finns added an empty netter from Adam Ruzicka at 17:39.
"It was amazing out there," said Oliver Okuliar. "Hot and amazing! Good pace to the game. We played to our structure, and that's how we won the game. The whole country cheers for us, and even more when we win a big game like this. They have an NHL roster and we don't, but we compete, and we competed really well today. It says something about our team and our culture, how we are together. We are proud of this win."