Winter Olympics: US Mens Hockey Falls In OT To Slovenia

In a stunning blow, the U.S. hockey team fell in overtime to Slovenia in the opening round of the men's hockey competition at the PyeongChong 2018 Winter Olympics. In the loss, three players from Michigan all saw ice time.

Team USA scored goals in the first two periods of play and was up 2-0 entering the third period. Slovenia, though, came back in the third, scoring two goals to tie the game and send it to overtime. Slovenia captain Jan Mursak scored the tying goal with 1:37 left in regulation and the winner just 38 seconds into overtime.

Scoring goals for Team USA were Brian O'Neill and Jordan Greenway, who became the first African-American hockey player for the U.S. at an Olympics.

Chad Billins, a defenseman from Marysville, Michigan, saw more than 14 minutes of ice time in the game. Jim Slater, a forward from Lapeer, Michigan, and James Wisniewski, a defenseman from Canton, each saw less than three minutes on the ice in the loss.

Because Team USA made it to overtime, it did pick up a point in the tournament. That's better than the Russian team, which lost in regulation to Slovakia. After the opening matches, Slovakia is on top of Group B, followed by Slovenia, the United States and Russia.

Team USA will next play Slovakia on Friday.

Some information from the Associated Press was used in this article

Photo: Jan Mursak (39), of Slovenia, shoots the puck past goaltender Ryan Zapolski (30), of the United States, during the overtime period of the preliminary round of the men's hockey game at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangneung, South Korea, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018. Slovenia won 3-2. (Brian Snyder/Pool Photo via AP)