Ice hockey-Slovakia muscle past Germany into semi-finals

MILAN, Feb 18 : Slovakia held off a late push from Germany for a 6-2 win to keep their charmed Olympic ice hockey campaign on track on Wednesday, reaching the men's semi-finals in Milan. 

The tournament darlings were a surprise group winner and maintained their run at Santagiulia arena as forward Pavol Regenda scored in the first and third periods, while forwards Milos Kelemen, Oliver Okuliar and Dalibor Dvorsky added goals in the second and captain Tomas Tatar scored in the third. 

The 2018 silver medallists Germany had cruised past France in the qualification playoff but faltered in attack and will leave the Games empty-handed. 

The remaining teams in the tournament will be reseeded at the conclusion of the quarter-finals on Wednesday, with the top seed playing the lowest seed and the second and third seeds facing off in the semi-finals on Friday.

'BIG UNDERDOGS', COACH SAYS

"We were big underdogs, we were hoping to sneak into the quarter-final and right now we are in the semis," said head coach Vladimir Orszagh. 

"The guys are working hard every day and they know their priorities, why they are here."

The 2022 bronze medallists Slovakia were considered dark horse candidates this time around as the NHL allowed their players to return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.

They have rewarded their fans - among the most vocal across Milan - with a series of convincing wins and kept the party going on Wednesday as defenceman Erik Cernak rifled the puck from the blue line and Regenda tipped it in late in the first.

Kelemen cruised around a flailing German defender and flicked the puck into the top right corner of the net four minutes into the second period, and Okuliar beat the goalie to add another score 31 seconds later.

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