After the 2:3 loss to the Czech Republic, the Slovak hockey players talked about the curious goal and the performance for which they deserved points. In their fifth match at the World Cup in Fribourg, they outshot their opponent 30:18, but a “soccer” goal by Czech captain Roman Červenka ultimately decided their first loss at the tournament.
“We were the better team in the second and third periods, but the situation ultimately decided the match,” remarked the attacker Martin Faško-Rudaš. He was alluding to the moment from the 53rd minute, in which Červenka, with his back to the Slovakian goal, directed Martin Kaut’s shot pass with his left skate. The experienced striker did not break the rules, did not kick the puck, and the video referee confirmed the regularity of his goal.
“I don’t know the exact rules about a situation where a player intentionally adjusts his skate so it bounces off. Maybe it shouldn’t apply, but now after the game I still have a lot of adrenaline and maybe I’m seeing it in a distorted way.” said Faško-Rudaš.
According to the captain of the Slovak team, Marek Hrivík, the winning goal of the Czechs was also about the skill of their captain. „,Worms‘ he is smart and knew what to do. It was a strange goal, but we have to respect it.” he noted Hrivík The Slovaks were able to pull back the opponent’s narrow lead twice, they could no longer answer Červenkov’s goal.
The interesting thing is that during the match they did not get to the power play even once. Both minor penalties for Czech players came at the same time as for Slovak players. “Playing a match without a power play is ridiculous. Let everyone make up their own mind,” he said Faško-Rudaš. “I think some power play would have helped us. It could have changed the course of the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it.” he stated Hrivík
The Slovaks entered the match against the Czech Republic with the aim of following up on the victories from the opening four matches of the tournament. Before the federal derby, they defeated Denmark 5:1, and according to several players and the coach, it was the best performance of the Slovaks at the tournament. They wanted to follow up on it on Saturday and partially succeeded, although without a point gain. “I think we played well. We created chances, but it’s a shame that it didn’t work out for us in the end. I believe that it will come back to us in the next match. The Czechs have an experienced team, they knew how to play it, and it was difficult for us to create chances.” said Hrivík.
The duel had an atmosphere that Fribourg’s BCF arena has not yet experienced during the ongoing championship. Slovak and Czech fans filled it almost to the last place and constantly encouraged their teams. “It was great. In such an atmosphere, you find extra percentages in addition to your performance. It was a joy to play. We were on a wave after we had a good match with the Danes. We wanted to build on it and I think we did. We lacked a little more luck in the end.” said Hrivík.
