Ice hockey: US men suffer shootout defeat to Slovakia at Winter Olympics
by Bryan Armen Graham at the National Indoor Stadium from US news | The Guardian on (#5W6PG)
- US side concede last-gasp equaliser and lose on penalties
- NHL decision left US with hastily assembled young squad
The United States' improbable, unbeaten run through the Olympic men's ice hockey tournament came to a devastating halt at the quarter-final stage on Wednesday with a 3-2 penalty shootout defeat to Slovakia.
The youngest US men's Olympic team in decades appeared bound for the semi-finals after coming from behind for a third straight contest to lead 2-1 with under a minute remaining. But Slovakian captain Marek Hrivic scored a game-tying goal with 43.7 seconds left and Peter Cehlarik broke a stalemate in the decisive shootout that followed a scoreless overtime period.
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