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We bring you a regular overview of how Slovak hockey players fared in the most prestigious world competitions. We mainly deal with senior representatives overseas and in Europe. However, we do not forget our talents from junior competitions. This time we watched the matches from February 13 to 19.
SLOVAK WEEK ON FOREIGN ICE
Attacker Miloš Kelemen scored in the AHL in all four games of the week. At the Arizona farm in Tucson, he scored two goals and added two assists. This is his first four-game streak overseas.
In all duels of the week in the same competition, Pavol Regenda also scored at least a point. The San Diego striker scored against Kelemen’s Tucson (San Diego won 5:1) and had three assists in the remaining two games. Both strong wingers have already played in the NHL and will fight for a permanent place in the professional league next season.
In the NCAA university competition, the goalkeeper Šimon Latkóczy continues to have excellent statistics, whose success rate of 93.7% is the best in the entire league. In the observed week, he intercepted one duel against Miami University, stopping 29 of 30 shots in a 3:1 victory. He was named Rookie of the Week, Goalkeeper of the Month and is also nominated for Rookie of the Season.
DVORSKÝ ENDED THE 23-MATCH WAIT
After two weeks, Dalibor Dvorský returned permanently to the men’s competition and scored well in the HockeyAllsvenskan. He scored in two consecutive duels and also added one assist. The 17-year-old AIK striker made his mark among the men for the first time since October 26, after 23 matches for a goal. He averages close to half a point per game in Sweden’s second-highest competition.
“I finally scored a goal after a long time. The last three games were good, I’m happy about that. I don’t look at statistics much, but I’m satisfied that I’m quite good at scoring in the men’s as well. However, I always focus only on the next duel. You need to have a similar mindset, which is important for your career,” wrote Dalibor Dvorský in a regular column for our daily.
THE RETURN OF GLASSES
In the Czech extra league, Litvín’s captain Matúš Sukeľ contributed three assists to his team’s victory over Třinac 4:3 after extra time. For the 27-year-old forward, it was the first three-point duel in the current season.
Třinac striker Marko Daňo continues to fight for the position of the best scorer and the most productive player of the competition. If he maintains his lead at the top of the goalscoring table, he will become the second Slovak after Marek Uram (2000/01) to do so in the Czech extra league. Against Liberec, he added two more goals, with which he reached 26 accurate hits. However, none of his teammates joined him and Třinec lost 2:3 after extra time.
Pardubice defender Peter Čerešňák maintained his scoring streak in the competition, winning in three consecutive matches. In clear victories over České Budějovice (7:3) and Karlovy Vary (5:0), he scored after an assist, in the loss against Vítkovice (1:4) he scored the only goal of his team.
“It was a sharp test for us before the playoffs. Vítkovice is a very high-quality team, maybe we will meet them in the knockout stage as well. We know what we didn’t do well and what we should improve. We still have to work on it so that it will be 100 percent by the playoffs,” stated Peter Čerešňák for the club website.
After almost six weeks, striker Oliver Okuliar returned to action, scoring a goal and an assist in the very first game. “I feel good, but I’m also quite exhausted. I haven’t played for a long time and we have a lot of games in a row ahead of us,” admitted the Hradec winger in an interview for our daily newspaper.
MARINOV STILL WITHOUT A LOSS
Kitchener forward Filip Mešár scored in all three games of the week. He particularly impressed with a beautiful free kick, in which he tangled the goalkeeper’s head and scored. However, his team lost to London 3:4 after extra time.
An excellent match in the USHL was caught by Madison goalkeeper Rastislav Elias. In a 3:1 victory over Omaha, he blocked 31 of the opponent’s 32 shots. His compatriot Matej Marinov was named Goalkeeper of the Week for the fourth time, the second time in a row. Goalkeeper Farga has won the last eleven duels and is still waiting for the first loss in regular time.
SLOVAK OF THE WEEK
ŠIMON LATKÓCZY (Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha/NCAA, 1st)
He has established himself as one of the best goaltenders in the college NCAA, holding the best save percentage. He blocked 29 of 30 shots by Miami University (3-1) and did not lose the fourth game in a row. The last time he scored more than two goals in one match was on October 16.
GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK
ŠIMON LATKÓCZY (Univ. of Nebraska-Omaha/NCAA, 3rd)
DEFENDER OF THE WEEK
PETER ČEREŠŇÁK (Pardubice/Czech Republic, 4th)
He scored in all three duels of the week. Assisted in clear victories, scored his team’s only goal against Vítkovice (1:4). Pardubice clearly lead the basic part and do not hide their title ambitions.
ATTACKER OF THE WEEK
MILOŠ KELEMEN (Tucson/AHL, 1st)
After returning from the NHL, he works again on the farm. In the monitored week, he played four duels, scoring one point in each. He scored two goals and added two assists to them. For Kelemen, this is the first four-game point streak in the AHL.
JUNIOR OF THE WEEK
DALIBOR DVORSKÝ (AIK/HockeyAllsvenskan, 3rd)
After a few matches in the junior team, he returned to the men’s team and is doing well again. Dvorský scored his first goal in the HockeyAllsvenskan since October 26, scoring in two consecutive duels and adding one assist.
Note: The number after the player in parentheses means how many times he was awarded in the column.
