STA, February 16, 2018 – The Slovenian men's hockey team suffered a crushing defeat of 2:8 at the hands of the Olympic athletes of Russia in PyeongChang on Friday. Running the show throughout the match, Russians scored a staggering four goals in the second period.
Following the 3:2 overtime victory against Team USA in Slovenia's opening match at the tournament, the team had to admit Russian superiority today.
Russians, who only got their first shot at the target in the eighth minute, stepped up pace in the final minutes of the first period, getting in the first goal through Sergei Mozyakin on a power play. The second goal, scored by Ilya Kovalchuk, followed 22 seconds later.
Russian dominance continued, with Alexander Barbanov scoring another goal on a power play six minutes into the second period. A goal by Ilya Kablukov followed after a nice pass by Kovalchuk, and another was scored by Kirill Kaprizov.
Slovenia did not manage to monetize a power play in the 33rd minute, but Jan Muršak managed to score his third goal of the tournament after it. Kovalchuk retaliated with another goal at the end of the period.
Russians would not give up, with Kaprizov scoring another two goals in the final period, while Žiga Pance managed to squeeze in Slovenia's second goal 33 seconds before the final whistle.
Slovenia will wrap up the preliminary round in Group B against Slovakia tomorrow.
