US to face Slovakia in Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinals
By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer
BEIJING (AP) — The top-seeded United States will face Slovakia in the quarterfinals of the men’s hockey tournament at the Beijing Olympics. Slovakia beat Germany 4-0 to knock the defending silver medalists out of the tournament. The U.S. goes into the knockout round as the only team to win all three of its group games in regulation. Facing Slovakia is particularly special for University of Minnesota forward Matt Knies. His parents were born in Slovakia and Knies even played a youth tournament for that country. Mislav Rosandic was one of Slovakia’s best players against Germany. It’s special for him just to be playing hockey at the Olympics after growing up in post-war Croatia.