Slovakia strolls past Germany to reach Olympic men’s hockey semifinals

Slovakia’s men’s hockey team will play for a medal in Milan.

The Slovakians trounced Germany 6-2 in the Olympics quarterfinals on Wednesday, guaranteeing themselves two more games to secure a medal.

Their opponent in Friday’s semifinal will be determined by the remaining three quarterfinals on Wednesday at Milano Santagiuilia Ice Hockey Arena.

Pavol Regenda opened the scoring for the Slovaks late in the first, and they blew it open early in the second when Milos Kelemen and Oliver Okuliar scored twice within 33 seconds.

Dalibor Dvorsky made it a 4-0 lead midway through the frame, and after Lukas Reichel got Germany on the board, Regenda restored the four-goal lead less than one minute into the third period.

Freddie Tiffels added a third-period marker for the Germans. Slovakia’s Tomas Tatar sealed the win with an empty-netter.

Slovakia won bronze at the 2022 Beijing Olympics without NHLers, its first time reaching the podium in the event. It has not won a medal at the world championships since a silver in 2012.