Slovak hockey player Peter Čerešňák is the only player in Vladimír Országh’s selection for the 2026 Olympics in Milan who played both previous matches against Italy. On Friday, February 13, the third awaits him, the Slovaks will meet the home team in the B-group match at 12:10 p.m. in the smaller Rho Ice Hockey Arena.
At the 2017 World Cup in Cologne, Ceresňák scored a goal in the 3rd minute of overtime to win over Italy 3:2. He also played against them at the 2022 WC in Helsinki, the Slovaks won 3:1. “Our difficult opponent is waiting, there is no easy one here. We watched yesterday how they played against the Swedes, they troubled them, so we don’t expect anything easy. We will have to prepare for it. What was in 2017 or 2022 was a long time ago. The rosters have changed, the coaches have changed, everything has changed on both sides. So we have to prepare well for it and of course we want to succeed.” the 33-year-old defender told TASR.
The Slovaks have an active record with the Italians, in 19 matches they won 14 times, drew once and lost four times. Logically, the score is also highly active in their favor 78:44. “We entered the tournament excellently, we will try to continue this. With that energy and cohesion. I believe that I will prepare well. The Italians troubled the Swedes, it will certainly not be easy.” added Cheresňák.
It will be played in a smaller hall with a capacity of 4,000 spectators, the environment should play for the home team. “It’s a nice hall, the dimensions are exactly the same as in the big one. I think we’ll be able to handle the one game here completely fine and then we’ll be looking forward to the big hall. We should be somehow adapted to these moves, we play hockey for a long time. The Italians will of course have support, but I believe that Slovak fans will also find their way to the stadium. But it will be about us, how we approach the match.”
The Slovaks also trained at the venue of the match on Thursday, they exuded good energy and especially the mood after the 4:1 victory over Finland. “Of course the mood is good, but it’s been good since the beginning. Even if it didn’t work out yesterday, we still have to keep the mood at some level. The victory helped us, he is training in a good mood and I believe that we will approach it in the same way tomorrow.” the veteran defenseman concluded.
ANTICIPATED LINE-UP OF SLOVAKIA
Škorvánek – Fehérváry, Nemec, Gernát, Černák, Marinčin, Cheresňák, Koch, Ivan – Tatar, Ružička, Slafkovský – Liška, Dvorský, Hudáček – Kelemen, Pospíšil, Regenda – Takač, Sukeľ, Kuuliar – Cehlárik, Cingeľ
