The United States men’s hockey team could not have asked for a worse start to their 2018 Winter Olympic gold medal hopes. Early Wednesday morning, the United States shockingly fell to Group B partner Slovenia, 3-2, in overtime despite coming into the third period with a two-goal lead.
It’s only the first day of men’s hockey action, but Team USA is already in a hole with just one point in the standings thanks to their overtime loss. It’s a position no one thought the team would be in this early in the tournament, despite the team ranking sixth in Olympic gold medal odds. Slovenia finished seventh in Sochi, but now has a head start over the United States in group positioning.
Team USA has a lot of work to do now that they’re already facing some pressure after just one game in the round robin tournament. Here’s how it all shook out and what we’ve learned from Team USA’s meltdown loss to Slovenia.
The Americans started strong, and it paid off with an early lead
In the first period, Team USA outshot Slovenia 11-3 and capped off their dominant opening period of play with a goal from KHL forward Brian O’Neill. The Americans took advantage of Slovenian confusion in their own zone as O’Neill netted the team’s first goal under pressure from the opposing defense.
Jordan Greenway would add to that lead in the second period, a 2-0 tally 13 minutes into the middle frame after the United States worked hard around the Slovenia net to cash in. With that tally the Americans looked like they were in control of the game, but had to hold off an incoming Slovenia rush to end it.
Signs were looking good too, as the team doubled up Slovenia in the shot count 24-12 after two periods of play. It wasn’t the prettiest game the United States has ever played, but the team was leading by two goals after stifling Slovenia for the most part after 40 minutes.
However, Team USA faded in the third period
The Americans didn’t come out with any spark in the third period. Instead of holding down the gas pedal to keep up the pressure on a Slovenia team that had gotten very few chances on net, Team USA looked disjointed in the final 20 minutes of regulation.
Slovenia nearly doubled their shot count in the third period alone, as they held pace with the Americans 12-11 in the final frame. Jan Urbas cut Team USA’s lead in the third period six minutes into the frame, signaling that this game wasn’t as finished as people thought. Then, Jan Mursak tied the game with less than two minutes to play despite not having the goaltender pulled to send the game to 3-on-3 overtime.
The Americans would not get a shot on goal in the quick extra frame, as Mursak netted the game winner for Slovenia 38 seconds into overtime to wrap up a three-goal comeback.
So, what went wrong for Team USA?
The Americans were unable to close out Slovenia with any sense of urgency in the third period, which was ultimately their undoing as their opponents stormed back into the game. Team USA looked unprepared for Slovenia’s desperate play, and as a result they were thrown into disarray when it came down to the final moments of the third.
Even though Team USA lacked any closing ability, head coach Tony Granato was overall satisfied with their performance.
Granato: "You look at our performance, we're going to be happy with a lot of players that played, I think really, really well. We just didn't win."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) February 14, 2018
While Granato’s words sound great in theory, the United States did not match Slovenia’s tempo in the third period. The Americans played solid hockey two-thirds of the way through the game, but it ultimately didn’t matter after a poor showing in the final frame cost them three points in the standings.
Thursday is now a must win for Team USA
Looking ahead, the Americans will have to play a complete game of hockey against a Slovakia team that has knocked down the Russians in a stunning 3-2 regulation win. Slovakia leads Group B with three points, and with the Americans holding third place with one point, a regulation win would flip the standings back in favor of Team USA despite a disappointing opening game loss.
The United States will play Slovakia on Thursday evening at 10:10 p.m. ET in a game that is now absolutely a must win for the Americans to keep their hopes of a medal alive.