Slovakia seemed out of time.
Its men’s hockey team had scored first in its quarterfinal against the United States at the Beijing Games. But even after surrendering the lead, it had kept the Americans, the Olympic tournament’s top seed, within a goal all afternoon.
But as Marek Hrivik patrolled near the American crease in the final minute, Slovakia still needed a goal. It arrived with about 44 seconds to play, sending the game to overtime and, eventually, to a shootout. There, Slovakia won, 3-2, to end the United States’ improbable ambition to capture an Olympic gold medal with its youngest team in decades.