Winnipeg, Manitoba - The celebration had started several hours before Peter Sejna stood near center ice at the Winnipeg Arena, staring at his bronze medal.
Most of the 13,225 fans in attendance were still recovering from the shock of Canada's 3-2 overtime loss in the gold medal game to Russia, but for the Slovakian team, the highlight of the day came about six hours earlier.
Slovakia, a young country that had not experienced much success on the international hockey scene since the breakup of Czechoslovakia, had stunned the hockey world that afternoon, defeating Sweden 5-4 to capture the bronze medal. Perhaps no team in the history of the game had been as excited to finish third as the young Slovaks. The emotional celebration included throwing game sticks to many young fans in attendance, a dance that looked somewhat difficult to perform on skates and a stirring rendition of the Slovakian national anthem.
And at the heart of the Slovakians' success were two Des Moines Buccaneers. Peter Sejna and Peter Smrek, the only two USHL players in the world's most prestigious junior hockey tournament, played key roles in the bronze medal game and throughout the tournament. Sejna was tied for third in team scoring with one goal and two assists. Smrek was one of Slovakia's most reliable defensemen throughout the tournament. Both players spent time on special teams as well as receiving plenty of ice time throughout the games.
The real story from the Slovakian team did not belong to any one player, however. It's a story of how a group of supposed underdogs came together to capture a bronze medal, not to mention the hearts of Winnipeg residents. Coming into the tournament, Slovakia was tagged with an underdog label, which might be kind of unfair given the amount of talent on the team. Thirteen players on the pre-tournament roster play junior hockey in North America, which gave Slovakia some familiarity of the culture, as well as the style of play employed by the United States and Canada.
The tournament is set up into two groups of five teams during the round-robin, and Slovakia ended up in the same group as the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic, and Finland. With five of the tournament's seven strongest teams in that group, many observers expected a short stay for Slovakia. The Hockey News slated Slovakia for a ninth-place overall finish, ahead of only Belarus.
It didn't take long for many observers to realize they had grossly underestimated the Slovakians. After starting the tournament with a 3-2 win against the Czech Republic, Slovakia played Canada to a 0-0 tie in its second game. And although goaltender Jan Lasak was the main reason that Slovakia, and not Canada, received a bye to the semi-final round, he became a fan favorite in the process.
Lasak had a strong repertoire with the crowd, skating into the corners during the play and communicating with fans. And the young goaltender, whose name happens to rhyme with Hasek, certainly improved his stock with NHL scouts as well. Through the round robin, the semi-finals, and the bronze medal game, the Slovakian goaltender faced what were likely the six strongest teams (other than Slovakia) at the tournament. Lasak posted a 2.33 goals against average and a 92.71% save percentage while backstopping Slovakia to the bronze medal.
Slovakia didn't miss a beat in its last two round robin games. After shocking defending champion Finland 4-3, the Slovakians eliminated the United States with a 3-2 win. The winning goal was scored when the U.S. pulled its goaltender late in the third period, as the Americans needed a win, and not a tie, to advance to the medal round.
With a first place finish in group A, Slovakia received a bye to the semi-final, where they faced the winner of the Russia-Finland game. After the Russians eliminated the Finns in overtime, Slovakia faced Russia in a hard-fought semi-final game. In front of a partisan, pro-Slovakia crowd at the Winnipeg Arena, Russia jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in the second period and appeared to have the game in control.
Slovakia's comeback started midway through the second period when Sejna set up Martin Cibak on the power play to get Slovakia on the board. Michal Hudec scored 34 seconds later to make it a one-goal game, but the comeback went no further. The Russians held on, just barely, to advance to the gold medal game.
Although most fans in attendance were cheering for Slovakia, the few that weren't had their reasons. One fan explained that he was cheering for Russia, since he felt Canada (which had already advanced to the gold medal game with a win against Sweden earlier in the day) had a better chance of beating Russia than Slovakia.
As it turns out, the host team fell just short against the Russians, settling for the silver medal. There wasn't anyone around the Slovakian team that would have used the term "settling for" when describing the bronze medal finish. For the Slovakians, it was as good as gold.
