On Friday, Slovakia's men's ice hockey team faced Italy in the Olympic tournament held in Milan, achieving a hard-fought 3-2 victory. The first period saw Slovakia dominate in attempts on goal with 13 shots against Italy’s 8, though neither team managed to score. The Slovak team came alive in the second period, raising their shooting ratio to 13:3, culminating in a goal from Libor Hudáček during a power play in just the fourth minute. Matušs Sukels quickly followed, doubling the lead before Italy countered with Mets Bredl's power play goal at the end of the period.