Team Slovakia Drops Team USA 2-1

Today I managed to catch the Team USA - Team Slovakia prelminary round game this afternoon. I must say, it was a very good game, a quick game, with the two teams being pretty evenly matched. After the first period the game was scoreless, with only one penalty assessed to Team USA, a bench minor, for too many men on the ice. In the second both teams exchanged power play tallies, one coming from Marian Hossa of Team Slovakia, and the other from Brian Rolston for Team USA. Early in the third, the Slovaks scored, what proved to be the game winner, off the stick of one of my favorite players, Peter Bondra. Now, I wouldn't have minded that so much if Team USA managed to at least tie the game. With the loss today, it makes things quite difficult for Team USA to advance to the medal round. In order to control their own destiny, they need to beat the Swedes tomorrow evening, and the Russians on Tuesday, if they don't do that, they need to hope for at least a tie, and that the Latvians or Kazaks don't put up good efforts in their last two games.

I would love to see Team USA make it to the medal round, but nothing is a given in this tournament, as the Canadians were upset as well today by a Swiss team that had no business beating them. I'm hoping for a much better effort by Team USA tomorrow against Sweden.