MILAN, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Slovakia held off a late push from Germany for a 6-2 win to keep their charmed Olympic ice hockey campaign on track on Wednesday, reaching the men's semi-finals in Milan.
The tournament darlings were a surprise group winner and maintained their run at Santagiulia arena as forward Pavol Regenda scored in the first and third periods, while forwards Milos Kelemen, Oliver Okuliar and Dalibor Dvorsky added goals in the second and captain Tomas Tatar scored in the third.
The 2018 silver medallists Germany had cruised past France in the qualification playoff but faltered in attack and will leave the Games empty-handed.
The remaining teams in the tournament will be reseeded at the conclusion of the quarter-finals on Wednesday, with the top seed playing the lowest seed and the second and third seeds facing off in the semi-finals on Friday.
'BIG UNDERDOGS', COACH SAYS
"We were big underdogs, we were hoping to sneak into the quarter-final and right now we are in the semis," said head coach Vladimir Orszagh.
The 2022 bronze medallists Slovakia were considered dark horse candidates this time around as the NHL allowed their players to return to the Olympics for the first time since 2014.
"Coming into the tournament, seeing the rosters, I don't think anybody believed us," San Jose Sharks winger Regenda told reporters. "But we proved that the team is the most important."
They have rewarded their fans - among the most vocal across Milan - with a series of convincing wins and kept the party going on Wednesday as defenceman Erik Cernak rifled the puck from the blue line and Regenda tipped it in late in the first.
Kelemen cruised around a flailing German defender and flicked the puck into the top right corner of the net four minutes into the second period, and Okuliar beat the goalie to add another score 31 seconds later.
The Slovak fans breathed a sigh of relief as their tournament hero Juraj Slafkovsky returned to the ice after crashing awkwardly into the boards and Dvorsky added some insurance as he outfoxed the German defence.
"We're playing like one team," St. Louis Blues centre Dvorsky said. "That's our biggest strength."
German forward Lukas Reichel scored late in the second and the team put pressure on as they outshot Slovakia 13-12 in the third, but another score from Regenda put it completely out of reach and Tatar's empty netter capped off Germany's misery.
Hot favourites Canada were set to play Czech Republic later on Wednesday, while Finland face Switzerland and the United States meet Sweden to close out the quarter-final slate.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery and Janina Nuno Rios in Milan; Editing by Alison Williams)
