Ice hockey - Russians suffer Slovakia upset in Games opener

Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Men Preliminary Round Match – Slovakia v Olympic Athletes from Russia - Gangneung Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea – February 14, 2018 - Peter Ceresnak of Slovakia (top) celebrates third period goal with teammate Dominik Granak. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

GANGNEUNG, South Korea (Reuters) - A third-period goal by Peter Ceresnak gave Slovakia a shock 3-2 win over the Olympic Athletes from Russia on Wednesday as the gold medal favourites squandered a two-goal lead.

Ceresnak capitalised on delay of a game penalty taken by Ivan Telegin, unleashing a slap shot from the point that beat goaltender Vasili Koshechkin to his left with just over 10 minutes to play.

Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Men Preliminary Round Match – Slovakia v Olympic Athletes from Russia - Gangneung Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea – February 14, 2018 - Peter Ceresnak of Slovakia (not pictured) scores a third period goal on goalie Vasili Kosechkin (83), an Olympic Athlete from Russia. REUTERS/Julio Cortez/Pool

Ceresnak, who plays in the Czech league, said his slap shot had been the most important goal of his career.

"This will help us win the next matches," the 25-year-old defenceman told reporters. "This is a tournament of big surprises."

The National Hockey League (NHL) decision not to release players for the Olympics in South Korea has made the Russians favourites to win gold.

Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Men Preliminary Round Match – Slovakia v Olympic Athletes from Russia - Gangneung Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea – February 14, 2018 - Teammates celebrate with goalie Branislav Konrad of Slovakia (L) following their victory. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Their team, composed of players from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), widely considered the world's second best, has more depth than other participating countries.

But former NHL player Ilya Kovalchuk, who had four shots on goal, said the team were struggling with their powerplay.

"We started well, we scored two goals and we could have scored more, but their goalie played well," Kovalchuk told reporters.

Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Men Preliminary Round Match – Slovakia v Olympic Athletes from Russia - Gangneung Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea – February 14, 2018 - Dominik Granak of Slovakia (L) and Ilya Kovalchuk, an Olympic Athlete from Russia, fight for the puck along the boards. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

The Russians drew first blood as Vladislav Gavrikov and Kirill Kaprizov found the back of the net in the opening four minutes to jump in front 2-0.

But after a lightning start, the OAR lost their composure as Slovakia hit back with a pair of goals on four shots, including a breakaway by Martin Bakos.

"We were the ones who gave away the game," Russian head coach Oleg Znarok told a news conference.

Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Men Preliminary Round Match – Slovakia v Olympic Athletes from Russia - Gangneung Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea – February 14, 2018 - Vadim Shipachyov, an Olympic Athlete from Russia, departs with teammates following their loss in the game. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

After a scoreless second period, Slovakia took advantage of sloppy play by from the Olympic Athletes from Russia in the third as Ceresnak collected the winner on a powerplay off a second delay of game penalty.

The Russians next face Slovenia, surprise 3-2 winners over the United States, on Friday while Slovakia play the Americans.

Ice Hockey – Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics – Men Preliminary Round Match – Slovakia v Olympic Athletes from Russia - Gangneung Hockey Centre, Gangneung, South Korea – February 14, 2018 - Peter Ceresnak of Slovakia (14) celebrates his third period goal with teammates on the bench. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Steve Keating and Ed Osmond)