Athletes of Slovakia celebrate during the awarding ceremony following ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
BEIJING, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Slovakia claimed its first Olympic men's ice hockey medal after defeating Sweden 4-0 in the bronze medal match at Beijing 2022 here on Saturday.
The Slovaks were desperate to win as they lost the bronze medal game to Finland at Vancouver 2010.
17-year-old Slovak forward Juraj Slafkovsky scored his sixth goal in Beijing at 23:17, and Samuel Takac put the puck into the net at 32:47 in power play.
Slafkovsky scored again at 58:26 when Sweden's goalkeeper was out, and Pavol Regenda threw the puck into the net 20 seconds later.
Slovakia edged past the United States 3-2 through a shootout in the quarterfinals, before losing to Finland 2-0 in the semifinals.
Sweden advanced with an impressive 2-0 win over world No. 1 Canada in the quarterfinals, and was defeated by defending champions the Russian Olympic Committee 2-1 via shootout in the semifinals. ■
A fight breaks out during the ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Li An)
Athletes of Slovakia celebrate after ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)
Athletes vie for the puck during the ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Li An)
Pavol Regenda (front) of Slovakia competes during the ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Li Ziheng)
Athletes of Slovakia celebrate scoring during the ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
Jacob de la Rose (C, front) of Sweden clashes with Martin Gernat of Slovakia during ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
Athletes compete during ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
Juraj Slafkovsky (R) of Slovakia celebrates with his teammates during the ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Du Yu)
Goalkeeper Patrik Rybar of Slovakia makes a save during the ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)
Juraj Slafkovsky (front) of Slovakia celebrates with his teammates during the ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Meng Yongmin)
Milos Roman (front) of Slovakia vies with Anton Lander of Sweden during the ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Xiao)
Athletes vie for the puck during ice hockey men's bronze medal game of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics between Sweden and Slovakia at National Indoor Stadium in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Du Yu)
