Olympic Hockey Results 2018: Friday's Scores and Top Highlights

Following a busy Thursday, the spotlight was on the men's ice hockey event Friday at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, with four games throughout the morning.

Coming off the team's 3-2 overtime defeat to Slovenia, the United States faced off with Slovakia. The Olympic Athletes from Russia were also in action as they looked to rebound from their loss to Slovenia.

Over in Group C, Finland met Norway, while Sweden and Germany took the ice against one another to bring the day to a close.

Below is a brief overview for Friday's games.

Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

United States beats Slovakia, 2-1

Ryan Donato was the hero for the United States, as the Harvard Crimson star scored twice to help the United States earn a 2-1 victory over Slovakia. Donato's goal on 42 minutes, 51 seconds was the decisive tally in the game.

NBC Olympics shared a replay of the goal, which came with the U.S. on a power play:

In its first game, the United States led 2-0 entering the third period before Slovenia scored twice and sent the game into overtime. Coach Tony Granato thought the loss aided the U.S. this time around.

"The experience we gained from losing that lead in Game 1 was, we had to play differently tonight," Granato said, per the Los Angeles Times' David Wharton. "We had to stay on the attack a little more."

Goaltender Ryan Zapolski was also pivotal in the win. He made 21 total saves, the most important of which came in the second period with the game tied 1-1. With Slovakia on the power play, Zapolski got a pad to a pair of close-range shots by Tomas Surovy.

Olympic Athletes from Russia beat Slovenia, 8-2

The other Group B game included none of the same drama, as the Russian team scored twice in the first period and didn't look back en route to an 8-2 win.

CSKA Moscow forward Kirill Kaprizov had a hat trick for the Russian team, and former NHL stalwart Ilya Kovalchuk chipped in with a pair of goals.

As if the goal total didn't properly highlight the distance between the two teams, the Russian athletes registered 34 shots on goal, compared to 15 for Slovenia. It was quite the turnaround for the Russian team, which mustered 22 shots and allowed 19 in its previous loss to Slovakia.

Finland beats Norway, 5-1

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Finland exploded for three goals in the final period as it cruised past Norway 5-1 to claim first place in Group C on goal differential.

Norway took a 1-0 lead at the 6:29 mark of the first period with a goal from Patrick Thoresen, but Eeli Tolvanen tied the game on the power play 10 minutes later. Tolvanen then broke the deadlock in the second period before Veli-Matti Savinainen, Sami Lepisto and Sakari Manninen each added a goal in the third.

The Nashville Predators selected Tolvanen with the 30th overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft. After Friday, many fans are already excited about the 18-year-old making the jump from the USHL to the NHL:

Sweden beats Germany, 1-0

A first-period goal from Viktor Stalberg was enough for Sweden to hang on to a 1-0 win over Germany, thus helping the Swedes keep pace with Finland through two games of the group stage.

Jhonas Enroth made 28 saves to blank Germany but rode his luck on numerous occasions. Dominik Kahun hit the post in the first period, which was the first of five German shots that deflected off the post over the course of the game.

While Sweden walked away victorious, coach Rikard Gronborg is likely to face questions about Rasmus Dahlin's lack of playing time. The 17-year-old was on the ice for a total of 4:36, which was the lowest for any Sweden player who appeared in the game.