Slovenia Upsets Slovakia Making Olympic History

There was a huge upset in the 2014 Sochi Olympics when Slovenia beat Slovakia 3 to 1. Slovenia is No. 17 in the IIHF rankings. It is a country with 2 million people and only 7 ice rinks. On the other hand, Slovakia has a population of 5.5 million and is No. 8 in the IIHF rankings.

Slovakia eliminated Russia and Sweden in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and finished in fourth place in the tournament. On their current Olympic roster, Slovakia has 12 NHL players, including stars such as Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins and Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks. Slovenia only has 1 NHL player, Anze Kopitar of the LA Kings.

Kopitar, who scored a goal in his team's victory, had this to say: "I sure hope they are not going to mix us up with Slovakia anymore like everybody does. We have waited for this for a long time, we have believed in this for a long, long time."