The battle for first place in Group B has been decided. Team USA defeated Slovakia 10-2 to secure first place in Group B. The tone was set, and a message was sent: if you’re going to beat them, you need to outplay them in every aspect of the game. Slovakia was unable to gain any momentum against the Americans, and their weaknesses were exposed. Although the Slovaks were without the services of starting goaltender Adam Gajan, defenseman David Natny, and forward Alex Ciernik due to illness. The lack of Slovakia’s top performers certainly contributed to their blowout loss, but they’re positioned nicely in second place in Group B.
Both teams came in undefeated, and the game was projected to be closer than the result, but the dominance from Team USA beginning in the second period gave them a clear advantage.
Slovakia’s Defence Was the Difference-Maker Early On
Slovakia was outshot 16-13 by the Americans at the end of the first period. Although the Americans dominated puck possession metrics, the Slovaks locked down the game defensively. The Americans scored twice in the first period but barely found their way to Slovakia’s net. Rutger McGroarty’s rebound goal after Oliver Moore’s wraparound attempt showed the lengths that they were going to go if they were going to score. This was America’s first successful zone entry, where Slovakia wasn’t swarming their players to force the game back into the neutral zone immediately.
David Natny, one of the Slovaks’ top defensemen, was ruled out with an illness heading into the final preliminary game. His spot on the top line with Maxim Strbak was replaced by Marian Mosko, a decision that Slovak head coach Ivan Fenes didn’t want to make due to Strbak and Natny’s chemistry. However, Mosko stepped up to the challenge and found chemistry early with Strbak.
Mosko allowed Strbak to play his two-way defensive game which forced the Americans to play the perimeter since Strbak was able to roam more freely. The constant pushing of play to the neutral zone finally gave Slovakia a successful zone entry as Mosko scored with a wrist shot from the point.
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While Zeev Buium scored the final goal of the first period, his goal came off of a rebound opportunity similar to McGroarty’s goal. Buium found himself tied up at the point and had to wiggle his way off a Slovak defender to find his way to the net. Slovakia’s play throughout the first period minimized the chances that the Americans had to score which allowed them to keep the game within reach as the first period ended.
If Slovakia had continued to play strong defensively, this entire game would’ve been a completely different story. However, they would collapse due to the weight of the American’s talents and sheer dominance of this game. There was nothing that Slovakia could do to stop the Americans after they started scoring and controlling puck possession in all three zones.
Slovakia Played Poorly in the Final Two Periods of the Game
The second period was the completely opposite story of the first period. Slovakia outshot the Americans 21-11, but the defense was the difference-maker for the USA. In addition to the Americans playing stronger defensively, goaltender Trey Augustine was certainly the reason his team came out of the second period with a 5-2 lead. Slovakia came out flying, but they weren’t playing smart hockey.
A team can shoot the puck on the net plenty of times, but you have to create a high-danger opportunity for it to be even remotely considered successful. The USA didn’t shoot as much as they could’ve, but they made every rush in the second period get close to the net. Defensively, Slovakia was not playing up to the Americans, and it burned them in the long run. A shorthanded goal by Gavin Brindley 29 seconds into the second period, followed by a pair of goals just 34 seconds apart by Ryan Leonard and McGroarty, put this game out of reach. Team USA went from playing the perimeter to forcing Slovakia’s defenders out of position which allowed them to get close to Slovak goaltender Samuel Urban. He was swarmed by American attackers, and the formation that the Americans had in front of him made it impossible to make the expected saves.
Urban Needed to Play Better
Urban didn’t play exceptionally well either, as the floodgates opened in the second period. The Americans exploited his weak stick side as he could not make many saves there. From Leonard’s goal with 1:40 left in the second period to Isaac Howard’s second goal of the game at 12:42 in the third period, Team USA scored seven times in 14:22. This offensive outburst came from the weakness they found in Urban’s game, and it was combined with multiple cross-crease goals. This was a brilliant strategy on Team USA’s end that allowed them to run the score up as much as they did.
The third period was worse for Urban. He would let in two more goals before finally being pulled from the game. McGroarty recorded his hat trick goal just 4:06 into the third after a 2-on-0 rush with Cutter Gauthier would beat Urban. Howard scored his fifth goal of the tournament and first of the game, leading to Urban being replaced by Rastislav Elias. Slovakia’s strong play against teams like Czechia, Switzerland, and Norway meant nothing, as Team USA had their way in the final 40 minutes of the game.
With Team USA securing sole possession of first place while Slovakia secures second place in the Group B standings. Both teams will await their opponents in the quarterfinal games on Tuesday, Jan. 2 with the hopes of advancing to the semifinal games on Thursday, Jan. 4.