Today at 3 a.m. ET, Slovenia and Sweden faceoff in the men's Olympic ice hockey quarterfinals live from the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi as part of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. The game can be live streamed for free here.
Sweden, the 2006 gold medal winners, will be looking to live up to expectations as they are heavily favored coming into the game while Slovenia will look to build on its improbable Olympic run as it hopes to continue playing well in its first ever Olympic hockey tournament.
Slovenia earned its first ever Olympic hockey win Saturday with a 3-1 triumph over Slovakia and then bounced back from a tough 5-1 loss to the United States on Sunday by earning a 4-0 win over Austria Tuesday to earn its way into the quarterfinals.
Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings is the lone NHL star on the roster for Slovenia, and he got things going early for the team on Tuesday by notching a goal just over five minutes into the game, and Slovenia cruised to victory.
"Three days ago they said it was the biggest win, against Slovakia, in Slovenian history," Slovenia's Sabahudin Kovacevic told the IIHF website. "But now, I think this one is the biggest."
Kopitar has 47 points in 59 games for the Kings this season off of 17 goals and 30 assists. Goaltender Robert Kristan made 30 saves to preserve a shutout last time out.
Sweden went unbeaten in the group stage and earned the top seed, but the team still feels like it should atone for its fifth place finish in the 2010 Vancouver Games. The Swedes have dealt with injuries to three top players, including captain Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings.
While Sweden went unbeaten in the group stage, the team was unhappy with its performance in a 5-3 win over Latvia on Saturday.
"The most important thing is we won our three games here," goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said via NHL.com. "We took care of business. But I think facing a really good team in the quarterfinal we'll have to improve a lot."
Lundqvist is 22-18-3 through 44 games with the New York Rangers this season with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage
While the Swedes are heavily favored, the team knows that it can't take Slovenia lightly.
"I don't think I need to tell them anything about that after the group games we've had," said forward Daniel Alfredsson of the Red Wings, according to NHL.com. "We are going to be the favorites, no doubt about that, so it's just about balancing our energy the right way. We can't focus on what we have to lose, but on what we can win."
A trip to the semifinals is on the line when Slovenia and Sweden hit the ice at the Bolshoy Ice Dome today in Sochi as part of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
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