The fight for the bronze medal at the Winter Olympic Games did not end happily for Slovakia. Slovak hockey players did not defend their bronze medals from Beijing four years ago at the 2026 Olympics. In the duel on Saturday (February 21) for the third place at the Olympic tournament in Milan, they easily lost to Finland 1:6.
The Slovaks also finished in fourth place at the Olympics in 2010 in Vancouver, when they lost to the Finns (3:5). This position is the best for the Slovak team in Milan, but for the first time since the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City 2002, it did not win a single valuable metal at the Games.
The beginning of the duel was cautious from both sides and after five minutes the score was 1:1. Slafkovský sent the first Slovakian goal from a corner, but it was only promotional. Moments later, the defending bronze medalists had a better chance, Lišek found Sukeľ in front of the goal, but Saros managed it. On the other hand, Hlavaj solved two unpleasant situations. However, the Finns struck from the next action. The Slovaks couldn’t get out of the zone, Heiskanen fired a cannonball from the blue and the puck found a completely free Aho in front of the goal – 0:1.
It could have been 1:1 in the 13th minute. Liška first lost, but immediately got the puck in the attacking zone, he charged a completely free Regenda, but he missed from close range. Immediately, even a shot from a good position by Cehlárika was not taken. The Slovaks did not follow up and Hlavaj had to put out the fire again. In the first part, they lacked the speed, accuracy and imagination that graced them in the opening match with Suomi. However, even their opponents were not full of energy after the tense duel with Canada.
Országh responded with a change in the first attack, in which Regenda moved instead of Tatar. At the beginning of the second half, the Slovaks defended the opponent’s power play and threatened Saros twice in their own game, but the Finns did not let them score. In the meantime, Okuliar had a promising chance, but he didn’t surprise the Finnish goalkeeper from among the circles. After a better Slovak passage, however, a cold shower came, when after the action of Finland’s fourth attack, he prevailed with a precise shot over Hlavaj’s catcher Haula – 0:2.
In two minutes, the Slovaks fell again in the middle zone, Suomi went to overnumber, but Luostarinen took it upon himself and Hlavaj intervened. The defending bronze medalists almost conceded with their own power play, but they handled the second part well and Saros had his hands full, especially with Gernát’s chance. The Slovaks created more chances in the second half, without a goal effect for a long time, but 30 seconds before the second siren, they were kicked by a Finnish misunderstanding when the puck bounced from behind the goal, which Tatar punished with a backhand bluff and gave hope for a turnaround – 1:2.
After the change of sides in the power play, Kapanen almost immediately thwarted it, but his shot rang just off the top post. In the following minutes, the Slovaks pushed the opponents and created several chances, However, Saros coped with shots from a distance, stops and a nice finish by Regend from the right circle. In the 48th minute, Ružiček’s fast Aho escaped, the Slovak striker stopped him for a foul and the Finns already used their strongest weapon for the third attempt in the match.
They needed 40 seconds to do it when Heiskanen’s throw was deflected by Hlavaj Hintz. Immediately, the chances of the Slovaks to defend the bronze were definitely ruined by Kakko, who went over the falling Gernát and hit the bar with a shot from the right circle – 1:4. In the end, the Slovaks tried it twice without a goalkeeper, but after errors in the passing game, Armio and Haula converted the final 1:6 into an empty net.
Juraj Slafkovský, only twenty-one years old, is undoubtedly the brightest star in Slovak sports at the moment. He became the first Slovak in history to be selected by overseas NHL hockey clubs in the first place of the draft. In July 2022, the Montreal Canadiens reached out to him from the top position.
Shortly after the lost match, he gave an interview to the TV: Šport. The top hockey player did not hide his disappointment. “Well, in my opinion, being fourth and last is the same thing. It’s not a medal, so… We were close, 2-1, going into the third period, and once again we lost it ourselves.” he said words full of disappointment.
In the last few days, the whole of Slovakia lived through hockey, and the biggest disappointment for Slafkovský was that they did not please the whole nation. “Well, of course we wanted to win it. Every single one of us wanted to win it, but unfortunately we were the worse team and we didn’t win.” he declared.
Did this tournament bring him at least some new experiences? “Well, I enjoyed it, except for the last two days. I expected much more from myself – today and yesterday, and from the whole team, and we just have to apply ourselves. Who knows how it will be in four years.” he announced words that surprised many.
Moderator Matej Sajfa Cifra reacted to the performance of our hockey players on the social network. “Thank you, it was great! The second youngest team in the tournament! The fourth best in the world,” he nailed the essentials. He was surprised by Slafkovski’s last words about letting himself down. “As Slovaks, we could feel this more. Everyone should start from themselves,” thinks the moderator. You can find a PHOTO of the contributions in the gallery.
