Slovakia jumped out to a 1-0 lead 3:17 into the game when Milos Kelemen tapped in a backhand feed from Matus Sukel on the far side.  

Libor Hudacek converted on a 2-on-1 break sliding the puck past the outstretched pads of Alex Nedeljkovic (Parma, Ohio/Pittsburgh Penguins) at 8:09 to double the Slovakia lead. 

Matt Boldy (Mills, Mass./Minnesota Wild) put Team USA on the board 4:48 into the middle frame scoring from just under the right hash off the rebound off a Luke Hughes (Canton, Mich./New Jersey Devils) shot from the high slot.  

Slovakia added two goals in 1:44 to open a 4-1 lead heading into the second intermission. Simon Nemec beat Nedeljkovic on a one-timer from the left circle for the third goal of the game, before Patrik Koch knotted one from the same spot on the right circle. 

Team USA had two late power plays to close out the middle frame, but despite sustained offensive pressure, could not convert.  

Shane Pinto (Franklin Square, N.Y./Ottawa Senators) got the U.S. to within 4-2, tucking the puck five-hole after a pass from Joel Farabee (Cicero, N.Y./Philadelphia Flyers) at 4:32 of the third period. 

Brady Tkachuk (St. Louis, Mo./Ottawa Senators) then pulled the U.S. within a goal with 6:04 left in regulation. After picking up the puck in the defensive zone, he carried the puck down the ice, made a highlight-reel move around a defender at the right dot and put the puck five-hole. 

Hughes knotted the game with 3:22 to play when he carried the puck through the neutral zone and took a lethal wrist shot from the high slot that beat Slovakia goaltender Samuel Hlavaj on the near side to force overtime. 

Kelemen scored with 1:04 left in the 3-on-3 five-minute extra session to give Slovakia the victory. 

Nedeljkovic played the first 28:47 and made 12 saves, while Trey Augustine (South Lyon, Mich./Michigan State University) had eight stops in the final 35:09.  

Next up, Team USA will face France on Thursday (May 16) in its fourth preliminary round game. Puck drop is set for 8:20 p.m. local time/2:20 p.m. ET and can be viewed live on NHL Network.  

NOTES: Luke Hughes (Canton, Mich.) was named the U.S. Player of the Game ... Team USA outshot Slovakia, 43-25 ... Both teams were 0-2 on the power play.