Im Quarter-finals of the Olympic ice hockey tournament The German men's ice hockey team will meet on Wednesday at 12:10 pm in the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey The match will be played in the arena against Slovakia. The winner will advance to the semi-finals, which will be played on Friday. The opponent is yet to be determined.
Tournament progress: First in Group B
Slovakia caused the first upset of the tournament with a 4-1 opening victory against defending champions Finland. They then defeated Italy 3-2 before suffering a 3-5 loss to Sweden in their final preliminary round game. This result secured Vladimír Országh's team first place in their group and a spot in the quarterfinals. Incidentally, Todd Woodcroft, head coach of the Kassel Huskies (DEL2), is also part of the coaching staff as an assistant coach.
With six points already (three goals, three assists), young striker Juraj Slavkovsky leads the team's scoring charts. Only superstar Connor McDavid (Canada, nine) and Timo Meier (Switzerland, seven) have collected more points so far in this tournament.
Olympics and World Championships: direct comparison
Germany and Slovakia have already faced each other twice at the Winter Olympics. In 2002 in Salt Lake City, the German team won 3-0 in the preliminary round. In 2022 in Beijing, the Slovaks turned the tables, winning 4-0 in the quarterfinal qualifiers. At World Championships, the record is clear: Germany has won eight matches, including the last five, while Slovakia has only managed three victories.
The last encounter between the two nations took place in November 2025 at the Deutschland Cup in Landshut. The team of national coach Harold Kreis triumphed 3-0 and thus secured the tournament victory.
Olympics and World Championships: Slovakia at tournaments
Slovakia's results at major international tournaments are remarkable. They have already won four World Championship medals, including two silver and one bronze. Their greatest achievement came in 2002 in Gothenburg, Sweden, when they won the World Championship title.
Slovakia also provided a real highlight at the last Olympic Games. Although they were eliminated in the semi-finals with a 0-2 defeat against Finland, the Slovaks sensationally secured the Olympic bronze medal with a 4-0 victory against Sweden in the bronze medal match.
Olympic and World Championship medals: 5
Current IIHF world ranking: 9
Squad: All eyes on Slavkovsky
The Slovakian roster is led by the outstanding player, top scorer, and leading point scorer of the last Winter Olympics: Juraj Slavkovsky. The Montreal Canadiens forward was just 17 years old at the time and scored an impressive seven goals. Today, the now 21-year-old is also among the best young offensive players in the NHL. Tomas Tatar (EV Zug) is probably the most well-known professional no longer playing in the world's best league. The 35-year-old veteran previously played 983 NHL games.
The defense will be anchored by three NHL stars: Erik Cernak (two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning), Simon Nemec (New Jersey Devils), and Martin Fehervary (Washington Capitals). Samuel Hlavaj (Iowa Wild, AHL) is expected to start in goal.