Finland vs. Slovakia Men's Semis Hockey Live-Stream Schedule and Odds
February 17, 2022
Since Slovakia began competing at the Winter Olympics as an independent nation in 1994, it has never won a medal in men's ice hockey. But after notching an impressive quarterfinal win over the United States at the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, that could soon change.
Slovakia will face Finland on Thursday night (Friday afternoon in Beijing) with a spot in the gold-medal game on the line. The victor will face the winner of the semifinal between the Russian Olympic Committee and Sweden. The loser will contest the bronze-medal game.
Finland is the only men's team that hasn't lost at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and it made light work of Switzerland in the quarterfinals.
Here's everything you need to know heading into the Slovakia-Finland semifinal matchup.
Finland vs. Slovakia Info
Date: Thursday, Feb. 17
Start Time: 11:10 p.m. ET
TV: USA Network
Live Stream: Peacock, NBC Sports app and NBCOlympics.com
Game Odds
Spread: Finland -1.5
Over/Under: 5 total goals
Moneyline: Finland -340 (bet $340 to win $100); Slovakia +265 (bet $100 to win $265)
Preview
This won't be the first time that Finland and Slovakia will have faced off at the 2022 Winter Olympics. The teams were both part of Group C and faced off Feb. 10. Finland won 6-2.
In that meeting, Slovakia took a 1-0 lead when Juraj Slafkovsky scored a little more than five minutes into the contest. However, Finland had a 3-1 advantage by the end of the first period, and it went on to win behind a hat trick from Sakari Manninen and two goals from Miro Aaltonen.
That was the start of what has been an impressive showing by Finland in Beijing. It also defeated Latvia and Sweden during the preliminary round and then routed Switzerland 5-1 in the quarterfinals.
Finland has never won an Olympic gold medal in men's hockey, but it has captured two silvers and four bronzes. Its most recent medal-winning performance came at the 2014 Winter Games, when it defeated the United States in the bronze-medal game.
Through its first four games at this year's Winter Olympics, Finland has scored at least three goals in each contest. The Finns' offense was a problem for Slovakia in the previous matchup between the two teams, and it has continued to have success in putting the puck in the net since then.
Against Switzerland, Finland had five players score its five goals. But it's not been all about its offense. The Finns have also allowed only seven goals over their four games in Beijing. Goaltender Harri Sateri recorded 33 saves and gave up only one goal in the quarterfinals.
After Slovakia lost its first game of the Winter Olympics to Finland, it then fell to Sweden. However, the Slovaks have fared much better since. They beat Latvia 5-2 in their final game of the preliminary round and then shut out Germany in its playoff to set up a quarterfinal date with the United States.
The previously unbeaten U.S. was heavily favored to advance, but Slovakia showed its resilience. After killing three penalties in the third period, Marek Hrivik scored the game-tying goal for the Slovaks with 44 seconds to go to send the game to overtime. After scoreless three-on-three hockey, Peter Cehlarik netted the lone goal of the five-round shootout to send Slovakia to the semifinals.
Although Finland has already beaten Slovakia during these Games, the semifinal matchup could be a much different contest. The Finns will know not to underestimate the Slovaks, who are playing much better than they were earlier in the Olympics.
"You want to keep getting better as the tournament moves on, and I think they've been able to do that," Finland captain Valtteri Filppula said of Slovakia, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. "Last game they played really great. So, it's going to be a tough game."
Slovakia became the first team to beat the United States at the 2022 Winter Games. Will its recent momentum be enough for it to also become the first team to defeat Finland? There's a good chance that this game will be more competitive than the first meeting between the two teams in Beijing, but it would still be a surprise if the Slovaks can knock off the Finns.
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