Even though the Slovak hockey players did not manage to win the trophy for the overall victory at the German Cup, coach Craig Ramsay was satisfied. He was pleased not only with the victory over Austria, but especially with the performance of his team in the match against the home team. According to the Canadian coach, it was the most difficult match of the tournament.
After a great entry into the tournament and a 7:1 triumph over Austria, the Slovaks lost to Denmark 3:4. To win the tournament overall, they needed to beat Germany by two goals, this goal was within reach in 55 minutes. However, after several power plays in the third period, the home team scored the necessary goal to make it 1:2. “I’m proud of the boys. You always want to win the tournament when you have a chance. But I liked how we played against the strongest opponent in the tournament. We went after them, we attacked them. I liked that we didn’t back down even when we were leading 2 :0 with the Germans. Everyone gave their all,” Ramsay stated.
The goal from Pföderl’s stick came after the dismissal of Okuliar, who hit Schink in the face. However, it was a very unfortunate moment and therefore Ramsay was not angry: “The glasses didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t blame anyone. In the end, a lot of things played against us. We also wanted to call off the goalkeeper earlier, he was halfway there, but we lost the puck and he had to go back to the goal. But we did things the way we were supposed to . The players learned something again. I believe they will take things from this for the future. It’s all about speed and attacking.”
news-item-description">In their final match at the German Cup 2023, Slovak hockey players won 2:1 over the home team. In the 34th year of the traditional measurement of the strength of hockey players of four countries in Landshut, they previously defeated Austria 7:1, lost to Denmark 3:4 and took the final 2nd place. Last year, Craig Ramsay’s men finished in last 4th place, having previously enjoyed overall victory in 1997, 2006, 2011 and 2016.
The best Slovak player of the match was the goalkeeper Hlavaj, the Germans eliminated several great chances in the first and second periods. “He was solid. He’s a big guy, he covers a lot of the goal. I don’t really like it when the goalie plays the puck around a lot and takes risks, but he did it when we needed. I also told the players who were down that they could rely on Sama. I liked his performances,” Ramsay stated.
Coach Slovákov praised several individual performances. Cingel scored three goals in three games, and Okuliar, the top scorer of the Czech league, also scored three times. “Oliver played very well. We used him in all situations. He was in the breakdowns and in the power-ups. He works great with the stick without the puck, he has a good feeling for the game. I was satisfied with him. In the end it’s about moving your name higher up the hierarchy. It’s still early, there will be playoffs, there will be injuries. But when he was on the ice, we felt good.”
news-item-description">The Slovak hockey team said goodbye to the German Cup tournament in Landshut with a bittersweet victory. Coach Craig Ramsay’s men improved their appetite after Saturday’s 3:4 loss to the Danes and beat the home Germans 2:1, but they missed the overall championship at the event by one goal.
2023-11-12 20:36:14
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