Slovakia delivered a commanding performance on Wednesday at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, rolling past Germany 6-2 in the men’s ice hockey quarterfinals at Santagiulia Arena to secure a place in the semifinals.
Backed by a roster featuring seven NHL players, the third-seeded Slovaks showcased their depth, speed, and finishing ability in a dominant outing. The victory sends Slovakia into a high-stakes semifinal matchup against the United States on Friday, as the team now eyes its first Olympic medal in a tournament featuring NHL participation.
Dalibor Regenda led the charge with a standout performance, recording two goals and an assist. He was supported by strong efforts from Dalibor Dvorsky and Oliver Okuliar, who each tallied a goal and an assist. Goaltender Samuel Hlavaj anchored the defense with 25 saves, turning away several German chances to preserve Slovakia’s advantage.
Slovakia set the tone early, overwhelming Germany in the opening period with an 18-5 edge in shots on goal. That pressure paid off late in the period when Regenda opened the scoring at 18:06, deflecting a one-timer from Erik Cernak that was set up by Martin Fehervary.
The Slovaks seized full control in the second period with a rapid offensive burst. After a brief scare that saw Juraj Slafkovsky leave the ice momentarily following a hard hit into the boards, Slovakia responded emphatically. Milos Kelemen doubled the lead at 4:01 with a quick backhand finish, and just 33 seconds later, Okuliar capitalized on a breakaway to make it 3-0. The sudden surge forced Germany to call a timeout, but the momentum remained firmly with Slovakia.
Dvorsky extended the lead to 4-0 at 10:21, creating his own opportunity on a clever self-pass to set up a 2-on-1 before beating goaltender Philipp Grubauer. Germany managed to get on the board late in the second period when Lukas Reichel buried a one-timer off a feed from Leon Draisaitl, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
Any hopes of a German comeback were quickly extinguished early in the third period. Just 58 seconds in, Regenda struck again from the slot to restore a four-goal cushion at 5-1, celebrating by proudly tugging on his jersey to display the Slovak crest.
Frederik Tiffels added a power-play goal midway through the period for Germany, but Slovakia had the final word. Tomas Tatar sealed the win with an empty-net goal at 16:33, finishing off a 3-on-1 rush to cap the 6-2 victory.
Germany, despite a strong showing in the qualification round, struggled to contain Slovakia’s relentless attack. Grubauer made 29 saves in his second start in as many days, while Draisaitl finished the tournament with seven points, the most ever by a German player in an Olympic tournament featuring NHL players.
For Slovakia, the win marks a significant milestone. After capturing bronze at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, the team has now reached the semifinals of an NHL-player Olympic tournament for just the second time, the first coming in Vancouver 2010. With confidence building and momentum on their side, the Slovaks now turn their focus to a semifinal showdown with Team USA, with a chance to make history firmly within reach.
