Slovenian fairy tale ends as Sweden marches on in ice hockey

SOCHI -- The hockey fairy tale is over because Cinderella’s toes eventually are going to hurt after stomping around in those stiletto heels. Everyone’s second

Michael Farber | Feb 19, 2014

Slovenian fairy tale ends as Sweden marches on in ice hockey /

SOCHI -- The hockey fairy tale is over because Cinderella’s toes eventually are going to hurt after stomping around in those stiletto heels.

Everyone’s second favorite team in the Olympic hockey tournament had to play its second game in 24 hours after a qualification win that had nudged it into an improbable quarterfinal. Well, good luck with that. With bags under the eyes and leaden legs, plucky Slovenia lost 5-0 to Team Sweden, a bittersweet but inevitable farewell at the Bolshoy Ice Dome.

In the junior varsity quarterfinal that preceded the match between Finland and Russia at the big rink, Sweden played a patient, buttoned-down game against an opponent that has a pool of 148 registered players -- plus Anze Kopitar. The Swedes did nothing remarkable or fancy, unless you count goalie Henrik Lundqvist heading away a rising shot from the left point with eight minutes to go. With Slovenia trailing by two goals, Daniel Sedin and Loui Ericksson combined for a goal off the cycle 102 seconds into the third period to make it pumpkin time. The eventual 5-0 win merely reinforced the notion that the Swedes usually coalesce in big tournaments.

“We wanted to win this game without expending much energy,” said Team Sweden coach Par Marts. “I know the next game we will play better because everyone will pay the price for winning.”

That opponent, according to Marts, will be Russia.

When asked in the post-match press conference which team he thought would win the game between Russia and Finland, he did not equivocate, backing the locals and not his Scandinavian archrivals. This was either honest or insanity, especially if the Finns prevail.

What is Finnish for “bulletin board material?”

If Sweden can forge its way to another Olympic gold medal -- the 2006 triumph in Turin was the apex of Tre Kronor’s Golden Generation -- it likely will be on the back of goaltending and the power play. Lundqvist has not been tested as severely as Team USA’s Jonathan Quick or Finland’s Tuukka Rask, but he has been almost impeccable. And with the occasionally dazzling Erik Karlsson running the power play, Sweden can create opportunities against any team. Indeed, Alexander Steen cashed Sweden’s first goal on the man advantage with a minute to go in the first period, tucking in a point-blank shot after Daniel Alfredsson’s drive had caromed off the end boards.

Sweden is now six-for-16 on the power play.

“We have some great players out there (on the power play) who can shoot the puck and make things happen,” Alfredsson said. “We seem to be able to use it to find some openings and score some big goals. Hopefully that can continue. It could be a big part of our success.”

“Today was a step in the right direction,” said Swede defenseman Niklas Kronwall. “We played with a little more energy. A team with more NHL guys will be more north-south than the previous few games.”

Published Feb 19, 2014

MICHAEL FARBER

Along with the pages of Sports Illustrated, you'll find senior writer Michael Farber in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Farber joined the staff of Sports Illustrated in January 1994 and now stands as one of the magazine's top journalists, covering primarily ice hockey and Olympic sports. He is also a regular contributor to SI.com. In 2003 Farber was honored with the Elmer Ferguson Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame for distinguished hockey writing. "Michael Farber represents the best in our business," said the New York Post's Larry Brooks, past president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. "He is a witty and stylish writer, who has the ability to tell a story with charm and intelligence." Farber says his Feb. 2, 1998 piece on the use and abuse of Sudafed among NHL players was his most memorable story for SI. He also cites a feature on the personal problems of Kevin Stevens, Life of the Party. His most memorable sports moment as a journalist came in 1988 when Canadian Ben Johnson set his controversial world record by running the 100 meters in 9.79 seconds at the Summer Olympic Games, in Seoul. Before coming to Sports Illustrated, Farber spent 15 years as an award-winning sports columnist and writer for the Montreal Gazette, three years at the Bergen Record, and one year at the Sun Bulletin in Binghamton, NY. He has won many honors for his writing, including the "outstanding sports writing award" in 2007 from Sports Media Canada, and the Prix Jacques-Beauchamp (Quebec sportswriter of the year) in 1993. While at the Gazette, he won a National Newspaper award in 1982 and 1990. Sometimes Life Gets in the Way, a compendium of his best Gazette columns, was published during his time in newspapers. Farber says hockey is his favorite sport to cover. "The most down-to-earth athletes play the most demanding game," he says. Away from Sports Illustrated, Farber is a commentator for CJAD-AM in Montreal and a panelist on TSN's The Reporters (the Canadian equivalent of ESPN's The Sports Reporters in the United States, except more dignified). Farber is also one of the 18 members on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee. Born and raised in New Jersey, Farber is a 1973 graduate of Rutgers University where he was Phi Beta Kappa. He now resides in Montreal with his wife, Danielle Tétrault, son Jérémy and daughter Gabrielle.