‘It was the best loss I have ever had’: Slovakia excited, despite loss to Sweden

A unique scene unfolded in Milan on Saturday after Team Sweden defeated Team Slovakia by a 5-3 margin in each team’s final contest of the group stage of the men’s hockey Olympic tournament.

The Slovaks celebrated with goaltender Samuel Hlavaj after the loss, while a defeated-looking Sweden squad more mutedly lined up to congratulate goalie Jacob Markstrom after the win.

That’s because the result, a 5-3 win for the Swedes, clinched a three-team, head-to-head goal differential for Slovakia over the Swedes, meaning that as long as Team Finland defeated Team Italy in the next game, the Slovaks would win the group.

The Finns obliged, and now Slovakia is in position to earn a medal for the second time in as many Olympic tournaments with a buy to the quarterfinal and a good chance at a favorable matchup in that round.

The Swedes were in position to get their requisite three-goal win, but a late penalty gave Slovakia a power play, and St. Louis Blues forward Dalibor Dvorsky put home a critical goal for his country.

“It feels awesome,” Dvorsky said after the game. “It is the best loss of my life. If everything goes well, we have a chance to finish first. It feels awesome, but we will not get too happy yet.”

Juraj Slafkovsky became the fourth man in the history of Olympic hockey to record 10 goals at the event before turning 22 with his tally that made it a 1-1 game in the first period.

“It is crazy, but it was the best loss I have ever had,” he said.

For the Swedes, the win is a strong bounce back from an abysmal showing in a decisive loss to rival Finland, even if it didn’t lead to the desired result in the overall group standings.

“In a normal situation, we are standing here really positive,” Swedish coach Sam Hallam said. “We need to stick to that for 60 minutes. We won a hockey game. We are maybe missing out on winning the group by one goal. We had it in our pocket and let it go. So we will learn from that and look forward.”

Sweden is now likely to be the seventh seed in the quarterfinal, meaning that as long as it avoids an upset loss to the 10-seed, the Swedes will likely draw either the United States or Team Canada in what would become a titanic showdown early in the elimination rounds.