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 Team SLOVAKIA 2009    (Vote for the Slovaks)
 
Czech Republic Vs Slovakia 
CZE8- 0SVK
Sat 02.05.2009
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.
 
Finland Vs Slovakia 
FIN2- 1SVK
Fri 01.05.2009
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.
 
Canada Vs Slovakia 
CAN7- 3SVK
Tue 28.04.2009
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...
 
Slovakia Vs Belarus 
SVK1- 2BLR
Sun 26.04.2009
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  
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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

Top Victories : 2007 WC 6th place,  2006 Olympic 5th place,  2005 WC 5th place,  2004 WC 4th place,  2003 WC Bronze, 2002 WC Gold, 2000 WC Silver

SLOVAKIA Preliminary Round Games  
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New York, Montreal Time =  LOCAL TIME minus 6h
DATE
LOCAL TIME
BERNE ARENA
ZURICH ARENA
FRI 24.04.2009
20h15
SWI1- 0FRA
SVK4- 3HUN
SUN 26.04.2009
16h15
SWI3- 2GER
SVK1- 2BLR
TUE 28.04.2009
20h15
FRA2- 1GER
CAN7- 3SVK
GROUP B : RUS, GER, SWI, FRA
GROUP A : CAN, SVK, BLR, HUN
GROUP C : USA, SWE, AUS, LAT
GROUP D : CZE, FIN, NOR, DEN
See all Schedules & scores
 
Team PLAYERS Composition
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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

Coach Jan Filc

Michal Handzus (FOR)Boris Valabik (DEF)Marcel Hossa (FOR)Peter Olvecky (FOR)
 
 
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