Budapest Ice Hockey Academy HC defeated Ferencváros 3-0 in the sixth match of the semi-finals of the ice hockey Erste Liga, thus leveling the match. With this, the seventh match will decide which club will reach the final.
| The puck landed in the Ferencváros goal three times – twice from the stick of Kirils Galoha (in white) (Photo: Csaba Dömötör) |
The pattern has not been broken, the domestic team still did not win in the Erste Liga semi-final match in Budapest, unless we twist the facts a lot, because in the previous announcement, the Budapest Hockey Academy, which started as MAC HKB Újbuda, is still the tenant of the Tüskecsarnok, just like FTC-Telekom volt. Where they won for the third time on Monday, thus winning their seventh Hungarian league title (after all, two teams from Transylvania remained on their feet in the other division) and the match that decided a place in the league final.
True to their custom, the home fans of the green and whites soon burst into song, “Franciscáros, you have to win” – said the rhyme, and although Fradi obviously entered the ice with the intention of winning, the statement was absolutely true for BJA, since a defeat would have meant the end of the season for them. In view of the high stakes, the referees signaled at Gőz’s early, big-hitting collision that caused a great uproar, that they would only intervene in the match this time if absolutely necessary, and everyone could stay on the field.
Basically, this could have favored Ferencváros, as BJA performed much more convincingly in the special team unit game throughout the season, but also in terms of the playoffs – this was perfectly illustrated by the first home game, during which the guests scored a goal. Let’s just say, in circumstances fit for a farce, Fradi’s offensive leadership was first prevented by referee Vladimir Babic, who ran into his defender, then the two backs knocked each other out, and Bálin Molnár hit the offensive confusion, raced across the field, and Gergely Arany, who defended in inspired form throughout the playoffs, passed the puck into the net.
However, the exploding joy was not present in the visitors’ sector and on the bench either, they knew that the end was still far away, and the attention could not wane for a moment, because it could cost them the next step. In the last minute of the third period, BJA suffered another comical mistake by Fradi, during a botched substitution, the puck was sent backwards, so that they could sit down for a quick rest – but only the most successful player of the duel, Kirils Galoha, waited patiently and doubled BJA’s lead. .
At first, the second period was mainly rough play, and then Fradi brought more and more dangerous opportunities. After Gergő Nagy’s quick start, for example, Dániel Kornakker had to reach the bottom corner three times with his stick to preserve his team’s advantage, and then the goalpost was also “belled”, then He hit the crossbar with a big man advantage.
“Shoot it!” – screamed a Fradi sympathizer – of course, if it were that easy, we’d all be hockey players, wouldn’t we.
In the third period, the Fradistas organized an increasingly fiery game in front of the away goal, but somehow, as in the whole match, and perhaps in the whole season, the final touches were simply not perfect, or even “just good enough”. Because of this, both fans and players on the side of the green and whites became more and more impatient, which manifested itself in the form of more and more frequent heat waves in the stands and rash decisions on the ice. Matias Sointu “judod” with Donát Szita, hung Nagy with a stick, so the BJA could have decided the match four to three, which did its job with exemplary discipline, sliding, climbing, blocking, it seemed more and more that Kornakker could end the match with another shutout in the semi-finals (he already succeeded in the fourth).
“Nothing works…” – complained resignedly five minutes before the end of a Ferencváros fan, and it wasn’t enough that he was right, at the very end of the match (just like at the very beginning of the previous one) they could worry about Arany’s health again after he was tackled by an attacker and his head fell on the goal post. Fradi’s only joy after that was that the goalkeeper could have finished the match if he hadn’t been brought down for the empty net in the last minute and a half – which backfired, as Galoha scored once more.
The fate of the Hungarian championship title will therefore be decided on Friday, at the Vasas Ice Center, where BJA will do everything to break the pattern, and Fradi will do everything possible not to.
