Russia and Slovenia Advance to Hockey Quarterfinals
SOCHI, Russia - Anze Kopitar gets to keep playing for his father in the Olympics for at least another game.
Kopitar scored 5:29 into the first period Tuesday to help Slovenia beat Austria, 4-0, in the qualification round of the Sochi Games, extending the experience of playing for his father, Matjaz, on the world's stage.
Slovenia is in the Olympic hockey tournament for the first time and has only one N.H.L. player - Kopitar plays for the Los Angeles Kings - so advancing to the final eight is a big accomplishment. Slovenia will face top-seeded Sweden on Wednesday.
'Let's say it is a miracle because this is really amazing,' goaltender Robert Kristan said after a 30-save shutout. 'Small Slovenia, playing in the quarterfinal of the Olympic Games?'
Add in a father coaching his 26-year-old son and it becomes a feel-good story. Kopitar scored the first goal in this game, which quickly became a rout.
Matjaz Kopitar, though, can't fully celebrate the family angle. His 21-year-old son, Gasper, who was a candidate to make the team, is nearly 7,000 miles away, playing for the Ontario (Calif.) Reign in the East Coast Hockey League.
'As a father, it's not easy for me because my other son is not here with us,' Matjaz Kopitar said. 'We're going to enjoy this moment. But hopefully, all three of us will be together for the next Olympics.'
Slovenia earned a surprising spot in the Sochi Games by knocking off Belarus, Ukraine and Denmark in last year's qualification tournament. That alone was quite a feat for the team ranked 17th in the world.
The country has fewer than 2 million people, just seven hockey rinks - two of which Kopitar said are not fully enclosed - and only one professional team.
In the preliminary round, Slovenia upset usually steady Slovakia, 3-1, to improve its seeding for the quarterfinals.
Coach Kopitar acknowledged being surprised to see his team still standing.
'In the beginning it was mission impossible,' he said. 'But we played well.'
He hopes that success at the Olympics will help advance the sport back home.
'I wish we could get five more ice rinks,' the coach said. 'I want to see more ice rinks. I want to see more organizations going on. This is the message to the people.'
Anze Kopitar, a two-time N.H.L. All-Star and Stanley Cup champion, grew up playing for his father and said he is enjoying every minute of doing it again at the Olympics.
His goal was followed by a short-handed goal by Jan Urbas midway through the first period, and Sabahudin Kovacevic's slap shot put Slovenia up 3-0 early in the second. The final goal was an empty-netter near the end of hte game by Jan Mursak took advantage with an empty-net goal.
'We had a rough start,' Austrian defenseman Andre Lakos said. 'They had a couple of chances, and they got a couple early, and we couldn't get anything past their goalie. Their goalie won the game.'
The Austrians, who share a border with Slovenia, were eliminated with one victory and three lopsided losses. They lost the first two games by a combined score of 14-4 to Finland and Canada before beating Norway 3-1 in their final game of the preliminary round.
'Very disappointed, very disappointed,' Austria Coach Emanuel Viveiros said somberly. 'Not to take anything away from Slovenia, I'm not sure why we didn't come to play. We had the chance to go to the quarterfinals, and we did not start the game.'
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