Contents: No gambler could have bet correctly on such a result... While Slovakia had been beaten 3-7 against Canada a few days before and Czech Republic conquered by the same opponent with a score of 1-5, one might have thought that this game be better balanced. Moreover, Slovakia even got a very honorable game issue after meeting Finland yesterday (score: 1-2). Thus, nothing nor nobody could have predicted that Czech players would make it so easily. There is a good chance that this event remains historically a source of Mockery/Revenge for neighbor countries.
Contents: Team Finland finally prevailed over a very defensive block of Slovaks who really improved their game in comparison with their previous meetings. Kapanen is definitely the Man of the game scoring the two goals of victory, wich last one was scored during overtime. Like Canada, Finland is now certain to play in quarter finals.
Contents: With three goals scored in the first period (Roy, Doan, Spezza), Team Canada immediately cooled down the Slovaks. The Maple Leaf players speed of execution was so stressing for their opponents that these could not help committing penalties, offering this way nice scoring opportunities. Canada definitely showed they were hungry for victory, playing each of their game to the max. There is no little adversary...
Contents: The two Eastern-Europe opponents seemed to wear a bulky equipment today as they mainly remained rooted in their back positions. Many offensive attempts consisted in a one-man run-through towards the opposite cage followed by an approximate shot. A goal in the first period would have liberated both teams and generated more intensity in the play. Fortunately, each country goal (1 by Stas, 1 by Hossa) led to the incredible overtime period. At that moment, the hysterical atmosphere around the arena reached one level higher, which turned the game much more attractive. Belarus finally won the penalties round, making Scorer Antonenko and Goalie Mezin Heroes for one day.
Pre-Competition PRESENTATION
Play Slovakia National Anthem
Status : Dangerous Outsider (IIHF World Ranking: 8)
Competition : Despite of their 13th place last year in Canada, where Team Slovakia had been surprisingly defeated by Germany (score: 2-4), the Slovaks have always qualified for IIHF World Championships and still represent a serious challenge. This time, during the preliminary round, they’ll have some job to do versus Belarus and moreover versus Canada Elite Team. The chances of success depend on how long players from clubs all around the world will have trained together before competition.
Pros : . Individual talents used to playing abroad (NHL, Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden...) . Team Slovakia Hockey system won Bronze (2003), Silver (2000) and Gold (2002) not so long ago Cons : Lack of discipline as an overall team
Features : 2002 was the year of glory for Team Slovakia and since that time, the podium has not been reached again. Although many members are well known for playing in NHL (Michal Handzus, Peter Olvecky, Andrej Sekera, Boris Valabik), rest of selection comes mainly from neighbour countries: Russia, Sweden and Czech Republic. Challenge for Team Coach will consist in quickly create an organization among these groups, this diversity abling to prove a rewarding strategy in due time.
Since a few Slovak players compete for Northen-American NHL tournament, which will coincide with the IIHF World Championships, roster provided below might be subject to changes:
Forwards : L’ubos Bartecko, Milan Bartovic, Jiri Bicek, Michal Handzus, Marcel Hossa, Michal Macho, Juraj Mikus, Ladislav Nagy, Peter Olvecky, Rastislav Pavlikovsky, Branko Radivojevic, Stefan Ruzicka, Juraj Stefanka, Tomas Surovy
Defensemen : Ivan Baranka, Dominik Granak, Jaroslav Obsut, Andrej Sekera, Peter Smrek, Ivan Svarny, Boris Valabik, Rene Vydareny
Goaltenders : Jan Lasak, Imrich Petrik, Ratislav Stana
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