Olympic Hockey Results 2018: USA Men's Loss and More from Wednesday

The opening day of men's hockey at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, was highlighted by a pair of upsets Wednesday.

Team USA blew a 2-0 lead in a 3-2 overtime loss to Slovenia, while the Russian hockey team also failed to take advantage of a 2-0 lead, losing 3-2 to Slovakia in regulation.

Both games were part of Group B action, and the group table looks far different than most would have expected, with Slovakia on top and the Russian team at the bottom.

Here is a closer look at how the men's hockey action played out Wednesday in Pyeongchang.

Slovenia 3, USA 2 (OT)

The United States entered the 2018 Winter Games with plenty of uncertainty due to a roster made up of AHL, college and European league players.

That uncertainty remains present, as Team USA fell 3-2 to unheralded Slovenia in overtime.

The Americans were in ideal shape through two periods, as Brian O'Neill gave them a 1-0 lead in the first, and Minnesota Wild forward prospect Jordan Greenway made it 2-0 in the second.

Team USA seemingly went into a defensive shell in the third period, however, and it cost them.

Goals by Jan Urbas and Jan Mursak forced OT, and Mursak scored his second goal just 38 seconds into the extra session to give Slovenia the shocking upset win.

Matthew Bove of WKBW put the loss into perspective for the Americans:

Although there are no current NHL players competing in Pyeongchang, most of the United States' team is made up of players who played in the NHL at one time.

By contrast, Slovenia has almost no former NHL players.

John Wawrow of the Associated Press cracked a joke about Team USA that fans of struggling NHL teams will appreciate:

The loss was a devastating one for Team USA, since beating Slovenia seemed like the one virtual guarantee for the Stars and Stripes entering the tournament.

Now the Americans must face a Slovakia team that upset the Russians before taking on what figures to be an angry Olympic Athletes from Russia squad.

Every team advances to the knockout stage, but Team USA is in danger of a difficult first game in the knockout round if it can't right the ship after Wednesday's loss.

Slovakia 3, Olympic Athletes from Russia 2

The Russian team were considered heavy gold medal favorites entering the Olympics, but that may no longer be the case following a surprising 3-2 loss to Slovakia.

Like the Americans, the Russians jumped out to a 2-0 lead and appeared likely to cruise to victory.

Vladislav Gavrikov and Wild prospect Kirill Kaprizov both scored early in the first, but Peter Olvecky and Martin Bakos erased the deficit with goals late in the first.

After a scoreless second, Slovakia took advantage of a Russian delay of game penalty in the third, and defenseman Peter Ceresnak pumped a slapper past OAR goalie Vasili Koshechkin for the lead.

The Slovaks managed to hang on for the win, and by virtue of winning in regulation, they are all alone atop Group B.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun tweeted about how unpredictable the men's hockey tournament is in Pyeongchang without NHL participation:

A lack of NHL players was supposed to give the Russian team a sizable advantage.

Former NHL players Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk anchor the team along with many of the top players from the KHL, which is widely considered the No. 2 professional league in the world.

The Russian team lost regardless, and Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports noted how teams representing Russia have struggled mightily at the Olympics for many years:

The Russians have major question marks on defense and in goal, but they still have the most talented group of forwards in the tournament.

That makes OAR a serious threat to win gold despite the opening loss, provided it can get back on track against Slovenia and the United States to close out Group B play.