Slovenia rallies to upset U.S. in men’s hockey, 3-2

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — The U.S. men’s hockey team doesn’t have a monopoly on miracles that occur on Olympic ice.

Slovenia, which had to get through a qualifying process to earn a place in this tournament — and then had to say goodbye to its best player, Kings center Anze Kopitar, because the NHL wouldn’t let players represent their homelands here — wrested control of a game the Americans had dominated and rallied for a stunning 3-2 overtime victory Wednesday night at Kwandong Hockey Centre. Playing in only their second Olympic tournament ever, the Slovenians stayed poised and positive while the U.S. built a 2-0 lead and pounced when they sensed the Americans were losing energy and momentum.

Taking NHL stars out of the equation might prove to be a bigger equalizer here than anyone could have imagined. Slovakia’s 3-2 victory over the favored Olympic Athletes of Russia on Wednesday provided additional reason to believe this is going to be a wild ride because the talent level doesn’t differ much when teams are deploying players from the KHL and second-tier leagues in Europe.

Slovenia couldn’t come close to matching the U.S. team’s depth and skill at Sochi four years ago. This time, it had no reason to feel inferior. “We know that we had a lot of chances in the first and second period and that we could play with them. It was no problem,” Slovenia forward Blaz Gregorc said. “So we just said we need to stick together and fight to the end.”