US to play Slovakia in Olympic hockey qualification playoff

GANGNEUNG, South Korea (AP) - The United States will play Slovakia in the qualification round of the Olympic hockey tournament playoffs, with a potential quarterfinal against the Czech Republic.

With all preliminary round group games completed, Canada, Sweden and Finland are all in the same half of the draw, with the other containing the Russians, the Czech Republic and the U.S.

The four teams which proceed directly to the quarterfinals are group winners Sweden, Czech Republic, the "Olympic Athletes from Russia" and Canada, which led the second-place teams on points.

Besides the U.S. vs. Slovakia game, the other qualification round games are Finland vs. South Korea, Switzerland vs. Germany and Slovenia vs. Norway.

All four qualification games will be played Tuesday, with the winners advancing to the quarterfinals.

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