Slovakia 3, Switzerland 2 ~ Jan. 3 /RELEGATION
Slovakia earns automatic bid with seventh place finish
January 3, 2005
Ralphsworld
by Andrew Oberle
Team Slovakia took seventh place at the World Junior Championships on Monday with a victory over Switzerland. Slovakia got up by two goals early in the game and was able to hold on for a 3-2 victory. The Swiss couldn’t get much offensive flow going as they were penalized seven times in the contest. Both teams were able to escape relegation and earned themselves automatic spots in next year’s tournament. For the Swiss this was an important aspect coming into the tournament, but for Slovakia it was more of a disappointment having not made it to the medal round.
“We are happy to win today. This team is good. We got seventh, but we could do more. We only came here with one goal, to make the medal round.” Said Slovakian defenseman Andrej Meszaros, a first round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators.
Slovakia went up 1-0 just 29 seconds into the game when a sharp angle shot off the stick of Tomas Bulik seemed to catch Swiss goalie Michael Tobler off guard as the puck went through his legs for a goal. Peter Olvecky was added to the Slovak lead with a goal at the 18:13 mark putting them up 2-0 after one period of play. Despite the early slip up, Tobler was strong throughout the period making quality saves to keep the Swiss in the game.
Switzerland increased the pressure in the second period as Gianni Ehrensperger came in all alone on Slovak goalie Jaroslav Halak, but was unable to convert. Switzerland was finally able to get one past Halak, but only after a couple of odd bounces. Swiss forward Yvan Benoit attempted to pass the puck to the front of the net, but the puck hit a Slovakian stick and flipped over the top of the net, then off the back of another Slovak defender and into the net. Halak never had a chance, as he didn’t see the puck until the referee was signaling that a goal had been scored. The Swiss also caught another break when a shot got through Tobler and was on its way over the goal line when defenseman Rafael Diaz swooped in behind Tobler to save a goal.
Going into the third period Slovakia maintained a 2-1 edge, until Kevin Romy scored for Switzerland 8:36 into the period. Romy got a pass from below the goal line from Victor Stancescu and was able to beat Halak up high.
The eventual game winner was scored by Slovakia’s Marek Hascak who beat Tobler high to the glove side with 6:57 left in the game. The Swiss had their chances in the remainder of the game, and despite pulling Tobler for the extra attacker were unable to score.
Despite losing their last game, the Swiss come away with a positive attitude and nothing but good things to say about their World Junior Championship experience.
“We can come out of this with our heads up. We showed some character and that we can play at this level. It is big for us to stay in the A pool for next year’s tournament in Vancouver. It has been a great experience.” Said Swiss defenseman Phillipe Furrer.
Furrer was tough to miss in the last ten days sporting neon green skate blades that are part of an endorsement deal with his team back home.
Slovakia finishes the tournament with a record of 4-2 and the Swiss finish at 2-4.
The top players of the tournament for their respective teams were as follows;
Slovakia: Meszaros, Stefan Ruzicka, and Halak. Switzerland: Tobler, Romy, and Stancescu.
