Team USA’s Olympic Dreams Come to a Crashing Halt After Shootout Loss to Slovakia

The USA had its chances throughout to close out the game and didn’t capitalize. The team squandered nearly seven minutes of power-play action, including a five-on-three in the third period. 

“Really, that was the game-changer. I mean, when you’ve got a five-on-three in that scenario and you don’t capitalize on it, you’re giving that other team a lot of hope,” USA head coach David Quinn said after the game. 

Running into a hot goalie in Patrik Rybar was a tough break for the United States, which played well in the tournament. The U.S. was thoroughly tested by the Slovak forecheck and maintained a narrow shots lead throughout the contest, with the exception of the second period when it was outshot 13-6.

Overtime saw both teams skating three-on-three for 10 minutes and a 7-4 shot advantage for the Americans. Matty Beniers had several good looks against Rybar in overtime, but to no avail.

Beniers won his ninth and final faceoff with nine seconds remaining to give Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Matthew Knies a final look on net. Rybar dropped low to the ice and denied Knies and the USA a goal as the OT clock hit zero. 

“We had a really skilled team, and you know, we were kind of made for three-on-three hockey. I think we dominated it, and their goalie made some huge saves so, what can you do?” Beniers said after the game.

Rybar tallied 33 saves through overtime and got credit for three more during the shootout. Beniers, despite a dominant overtime period, was not selected as one of the top four shooters for Quinn and Team USA. 

“They were throwing pucks to the net from a lot of spots and trying to crash. So for me, it was just fighting to see pucks and trying to smother rebounds as best as I could,” USA goalie Strauss Mann said. 

Mann made 34 saves for the United States and another three in the shootout. The 23-year-old goalie was disappointed in the result but found no one thing to attribute the loss to. 

“I felt pretty good. We felt confident with our 2-1 lead … it’s a game of inches. I know everyone in our locker room gave it their all, and props to them.” 

The USA fell short of the magical run, one that reporters were tempted to compare to the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team. However, an ending that Disney movies are made of wasn’t meant to be. 

“You can’t script it up how you want it every time, and life and hockey are about learning things and taking what life gives you and trying to make lemonade out of lemons, I guess. So we’ll let it kind of sink in for a bit here. I think everyone will learn something at the end of the day, especially with all the young guys on this team. This will serve them well moving forward,” Mann said. 

Coach Quinn added, despite the loss, this is a team the country should be proud of.

“It was a lot of fun watching them become a team in a short period of time. I think everybody here saw that. It was a selfless group, and I think we represented our country very well as a team.”

Quinn also noted, with a wry chuckle, “We still haven’t a lost a game, really. I mean, we lost a shootout, right? So that’s the frustrating part. I think it speaks volumes to the depth of hockey in America.”