Heavy weekend defeats burst Slovakia's quarter-finals dream

Slovakia's hopes of reaching the quarter-finals at this year's IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, co-hosted by Sweden and Denmark, were dashed over the weekend following back-to-back defeats.

After suffering a heavy 7–0 loss to Canada on Saturday night, Slovakia fell 5–1 to Latvia on Sunday evening, officially ending its quarter-final ambitions.

"A huge disappointment, but also a reflection of where we are right now," said head coach Vladimír Országh in a post-match interview with Sportnet. He noted the team lacked experienced players capable of stepping up and putting the puck in the net when it mattered most.

Slovakia v Canada (11 photos)

While a defeat to powerhouse Canada was widely anticipated, the loss to Latvia came as more of a blow, especially with Slovakia in a stronger position points-wise ahead of the game.

Latvia struck first, scoring on their opening opportunity. Slovakia responded during a power play minutes later and finished the first period with a 15–7 advantage in shots. However, despite their early pressure, the momentum shifted in the second frame.

Latvia returned with renewed intensity and capitalised on a string of Slovak defensive errors, netting three unanswered goals to head into the final period with a 4–1 lead.

Slovakia never recovered. In the third, Latvia turned up the pressure, outshooting Slovakia 11–4 in the first ten minutes. They sealed the win with a late empty-net goal.

Slovakia v Latvia (8 photos)

Pre-match tensions were stoked by Latvian forward Ralfs Freibergs, who expressed his added motivation due to the presence of Slovak players with links to Russia's KHL.

"We Latvians stand with Ukraine," Freibergs told reporters, as quoted by the daily Denník N. "I know what Slovak ministers have said, what their policy is. That's a bit of extra motivation for us—at least for me."

Slovakia will wrap up their campaign on Tuesday with a match against Finland, scheduled for 16:20 local time. A loss without any points could mark Slovakia's worst World Championship finish since 2017, when they narrowly avoided relegation from the top tier.