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The Belarusians were originally supposed to celebrate the return among the hockey elite in front of domestic fans. Finally, after the IIHF decisions, the whole championship fell to Latvia.
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On the opening day of the World Championships, they will check the readiness of the Slovak team in the first part. They lack more significant names in the line-up, so it would be a shame for Slovakia to hesitate and lose important points on the first day.
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Belarus went to the championship with the fourth oldest and most difficult team. In preparation, it managed to defeat Hungary, Austria and once dealt with Germany. The team was sometimes stuck, in the preparation it scored a total of 21 goals, while in the last two matches they could not score.
GOALKEEPERS
Belarus will have one of the least experienced goals in terms of national team experience. Not one of the three goalkeepers has yet registered a start at the senior world championship.
The most shot goalkeeper is Danny Taylorwho is the last two seasons in the service of Dinama Minsk. For ten years, the Canadian alternated with various lower competitions overseas, the longest playing in the AHL. He also scored four symbolic NHL starts in the Calgary Flames and Ottawa Senators. The goalkeeper did not only travel to North America, he also went to the world to try. He caught in the German, Swedish and Czech leagues. In the KHL, he alternated several destinations from Zagreb, through Siberia to Minsk.
The thirty-five-year-old veteran has the largest number of starts, a total of 620 matches. He should be the mentor of the two younger goalkeepers in the national team. However, in the last two years, Taylor has scored only 5 wins out of 32 duels in the Minsk jersey. On average, he collected 3.4 goals per match and the success rate of interventions was below 90 percent.
It should be added, however, that his team has been one of the weakest in recent times. Despite an unflattering balance, Taylor performed the best KHL intervention last season. However, he did not win any wins in the four preparatory matches.
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Before the championships, the younger man did better Konstantinov Shostakov. The 21-year-old goalkeeper in preparation led the Belarusian team to two wins, but lost twice. During the season, he played in the second highest league in Russia in the Molot-Prikamie Perm team. Shostak caught 32 matches and scored 8 wins and 4 draws. On average, he collected 2.43 goals per game and had a 92.3-percent success rate.
The last of the three is Alexei Kolosov. Only a 19-year-old goalkeeper has experience in junior championships. In preparation, he got a chance in two matches, in which he booked a defeat with Russia and a victory over Germany. Kolosov is a partner of Taylor, and although he started in only nine matches, he was able to pick up three wins for Minsk, one more than a Canadian. He collected an average of 2.23 goals and had a 91% success rate.
DEFENDERS
The defense of Belarusians is composed almost exclusively of players from the KHL. The exception is the oldest quarterback of choice Andrej Antonovwho plays in Belarus’ top competition. For the last three years in a row, he has won league titles with the Yunost Minsk team, and he has repeatedly been awarded as the best defender or most useful player in the playoffs. He is one of the more capable, but he has not yet opened a points account at the championship. Antonov is a player in the first two defensive pairs.
Photo gallery
Andrej Antonov at the World Championships in 2009.
Source: TASR
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It will complement it Nick Bailen, an American defender who plays for Traktor Chelyabinsk. He has been representing Belarus since 2016, when he acquired his citizenship after three years in Minsk. This season he was the most productive backbone in the team and the third player in the productivity table overall.
It will definitely attract attention Stepan Falkovsky, the second highest player in the championship. The talented 24-year-old defender can help at both ends of the ice rink and is not afraid to tighten the game.
The most experienced representative is without a doubt Dmitrij Korobov, who skated for 51 matches at the championships for Belarus. In recent years, he has been one of the team’s mentors and leaders.
ATTACKERS
Like Slovakia, the Belarusian offensive will be supported by a young player from the New Jersey Devils. The most significant reinforcement on the list will be Jegor Šarangovič. In his NHL debut season, he scored 30 points in 54 games and was one of the biggest drivers of the “devils” attack. With 16 goals, he was the second best scorer. He will also be responsible for the team’s productivity in the national selection.
Photo gallery
Yegor Sharangovic (left) in a New Jersey Devils jersey.
Source: TASR
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Of the young men, it will be interesting to watch the Washington Capitals prospectus Alexeja Protasa. The Slovak defense must guard against this, especially in the pre-goal area and not let it hit. It is also worth mentioning Danila Klimovič. He managed to steal attention at the junior championships under 18, when he scored 6 goals in 5 matches.
Belarusians will also rely on two dual-citizenship debutants in the offensive. Shane Prince and former HC Slovan Bratislava player Francis Paré have several years of experience in the KHL. The attack also includes a traditional participant and a legend of Belarus Sergei Kosticyn, whose productivity gradually decreases with increasing age. This season he played only 19 duels with a balance of 3 + 5 in the Bratislava Capitals jersey.
MATCH WITH SLOVAKIA
Three wins and one loss. This is Slovakia’s balance against Belarus at the World Cup in the last ten years. The last high win from Copenhagen is hard to forget. As many as eleven goals were scored in the match, while the Slovaks shot the net through Belarus with seven precise hits. The 2018 Championships in Denmark did not win them at all, they did not get a point and with a score of 8:36 they dropped out of the A-division.
Head to head matches with Slovakia at the World Cup in the last 10 years
2018 Belarus – Slovakia 4: 7
2016 Slovakia – Belarus 2: 4
2015 Belarus – Slovakia 1: 2 pp
2012 Slovakia – Belarus 5: 1
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CHANCE ON THE WORLD
Belarus is one of the weaker teams in the A-group. He has an unstable goal area and problems with the ending. Sharangovic will want to continue the productive season, but he himself will not save the offensive of Belarus.
It would be a big surprise if the selections of Russia, Sweden or the Czech Republic could turn for points. Balanced matches should be played with Denmark, Switzerland and a duel against Great Britain should be a compulsory ride.
Although their national team is not among the aspirants to win the group, it may make Slovakia’s fight for a place in the quarterfinals uncomfortable. It would therefore be irresponsible on the part of the Slovaks to underestimate the opponent and risk losing important points on the opening day of the championship.
MS program
21.5. (Friday): 19.15 Slovakia / ONLINE >>
23.5. (Sunday): 15.15 Sweden
24.5. (Monday): 19.15 Czechia
26.5. (Wednesday): 19.15 Great Britain
28.5. (Friday): 19.15 Denmark
30.5. (Sunday): 15.15 Switzerland
01.06. (Tuesday): 19.15 Mask
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Slovakia’s program at the World Hockey Championship 2021
