Marek Daň Scores Winning Goal in Třinec’s Third Win of the Finals

He scored in the third game of the final, when he succeeded alone against Matěj Machovský. Thanks to his goal, Třinec won 1:0 over Hradec Králové, won its third win and can decide on the fourth championship title in a row on Sunday.

You waited a long time for a goal again. Did you rest?

I don’t know how many matches it was, but of course it’s pleasing. And in such an extremely important match. It finally fell into place for me and I was able to help the team in such a way. I am grateful for that.

What was going through your head when you drove alone at the goalkeeper?

So that the back doesn’t run me over. (laughter). And, of course, also to lift the shot after the bluff into the backhand only above the concrete and not into the trap. It worked and in the end it was the winning goal.

Now in Ostrava, your compatriot Richard Páník succeeded against Šimon Hrubec with an interesting finish with the tip of the blade in the match against the Czech Republic. Would you dare to do that?

I have seen it. We were together in preparation for the 2019 World Championship in Michalovci and he did it there too. I tried a slightly different bluff with one hand, but it doesn’t work in this situation. It’s very demanding at that speed, hats off to him for coming up with something like that. I am satisfied with the fact that at that speed the loop came out in my backhand and that I managed to pick it up.

Aron Chmielewski sent you to raid with a frog. Did he see you or did you yell?

We yelled at him to give it to me, but he decided to throw it down the middle. I lost the puck for a while, but I put the stick on the ice and it landed on my backhand. Then I was already pedaling with my head down and we were trying to run away from that back. Fortunately, he didn’t skate me, I was able to cover the puck and the finish finally fell behind the goalkeeper. It was a great match from everyone. Káca (Ondřej Kacetl) has a clean sheet, so again an excellent performance. We look forward to tomorrow.

For sixty minutes it looked very difficult to score. What does this indicate?

That goalkeepers catch excellently, because there are chances on both sides. We used our chance and then we closed it, blocked all the shots and Káca held us in important moments. At the end of the match in the power play, they had a good signal, they played it from behind the goal against the bar and hit the side net, we had a bit of luck there.

Do you have a lot of confidence when you take the lead? Is there the confidence, the belief that you can do it?

Each of us knows what to do. These tough matches have been played here for many years, the system has been used here and the new boys have picked it up very well. But we can’t just stand in the midfield for the whole match. We can react well and when we need to be active, we are. When we lead, we know how to pull back. It’s a well-balanced balance.

The last step is missing, which is said to be the hardest. Can you confirm this from your own experience?

The key player will play selflessly for the entire sixty minutes. And if needed, even more. Go into the match with a clear head and with a good attitude. I believe that if we give such a great team performance, then we have a chance to finish it tomorrow. It will certainly be challenging, they have nothing left to lose. But today was also extremely challenging.

And make your opponent hate the game again with your hockey?

Exactly. Maybe it’s a bit frustrating for the opponents, but we feel very good about it. But it’s not like we’re just defending. We can distinguish when to retreat and when to attack, which is why it is difficult for the opponent to react to it.

Bohumil Jank and Jakub Lev were injured in Hradec’s lineup. Did it surprise you?

It’s the playoffs, they have nothing to spare. After two losses, they tried to change it, supplement it. I don’t know how bad their injuries were, but it’s the playoffs, they’re tough guys, they made it. If we were faced with similar problems, we would bite too.