Before last year’s world championship, the national team was dealing with the dilemma that coach Craig Ramsay was taking three goalkeepers from the Slovak extra league to Latvia. However, the fears did not come true and the goalkeepers were the least problem of the team’s performances.
The unit was Stanislav Škorvánek, who confirmed a great playoff from Michaloviec and in four matches he maintained an average of 1.26 goals per match at the World Cup with a 95.4% success rate. Now he returns to the national team goal for the first time since the championship.
His pilgrimage to Riga started just last year in Bratislava before Christmas. “Even then I had a good time in Michalovci. I was catching more, getting into the goal and with the national team we did well at the Kaufland Cup. I have fond memories of it. I was pleased to go to the home tournament again. Only training in the national team is two levels different from the extra league. I’m happy to compare myself again with players from the top European leagues,” Škorvánek talked to himself.
LATVIAS WILL NOT APPRECIATE IT ANYMORE
A year ago, the Slovaks defeated the Norwegians 6:0 and the Latvians 6:1. “I know from our Latvian teammates in Michalovci that they take it differently than last year. They want to take a stronger team. Kaspars Daugavinš gives me enough goals in training. I will not make any bets with him, but I will mainly focus on my performance,” Michaloviec goalkeeper said with a smile.
Daugavinš belongs to the best foreigners in our league. “Kaspars is a very experienced player, he has an excellent overview and in power-ups he belongs to the top three best players in our league. He brought a lot of experience to the team, that’s why he is also the captain. He has played a lot, how he got into physical shape, he is valid. I’m happy to play with him.”
Škorvánek does not think much about whether the successful last year cemented his place in the national team. He returns to it again as perhaps the best goalkeeper in the extra league. In statistics, he has the best 92.9% success rate of interventions. With thirteen wins, together with Marcel Melicherčík from Spišská Nová Ves, he is the best in this statistic as well.
Similarly, he came before the last world championships, when he dominated the playoffs with great performances and almost pushed Michalovci to the finals. “No one knows how it will be around the players from the KHL. My chances in the national team will be greatest if I catch well in the club. That’s what I’m trying to do and focusing on.. Then I can also be valid for the national team.” the native of Žilina spoke now.
They have excellent form with Michalovci, they left for the international break after nine wins in a row. “Recently, it worked out for us as a team as well. I also had pretty good numbers before, but we lost a lot of games by a goal. We were missing a string of wins, which came only now. At the moment it is nice to watch our game from the goal. We play well, we score a lot of goals. It’s easier for me,” said modestly the unit of the currently third extra-league club.
We are not exaggerating when we say that Eastern Slovakian Dukla is currently playing the best in the entire competition.“I wouldn’t argue even if someone said that we are now the best team in the extra league. My form is definitely perfect. But one bad match can come and it will be adjusted. I believe that we will continue this and maintain a high position in the table.” said the twenty-seven-year-old goalkeeper.
news-item-description">The coach of the Slovak hockey team, Craig Ramsay, had to make three changes to the original nomination before the start of preparations for the Christmas Kaufland Cup. Goalkeeper Matej Tomek, forward Adrián Holešinský and defender Michal Ivan dropped out of the 22-man squad. Instead, the coaching staff called up Samuel Hlavaj, Matej Kašlík and Marek Stach, who should experience his debut in the A-team.
THE BEST IMPORTS
The last national team break is constantly mentioned, when Michalovce held a training session in the Tatras, after which they stopped a streak of five losses and started winning. “It’s funny that everyone mentions our team building. We laugh about it in the cabin. The first international break helped us. It was time to train, sit down a bit and calm down. Everyone was aware that we had quality, we just lacked results.
It helped that we won in Banská Bystrica right after the break and started a winning streak. Teambuilding in the Tatras was pleasant, but I wouldn’t overestimate it,” laughed Škorvánek, who was pleased that the bad results did not cost the position of coach Petr Kúdelka.
“It is a positive thing that the management kept Kuď after the losses. He was able to defend his place last year as well as this year. He has confidence. He has a huge merit in last season and the current season. I’m very glad he stayed. I don’t know how it would have turned out if it interfered more significantly with the team. We still believed in each other, we just needed to break it to our side.”
Michalovce have enormous strength in attack, especially in the position of foreigners. It can be said that they have the best in the league. “We probably have the best imports. I managed to put it together. Especially Kaspers Daugavinš and Chase Pearson are great. For me, it’s sometimes frustrating in training. I lost a lot of nerves during power play practice, but it’s nice to see when it comes out in matches. They are strong with the puck, they have experience. They know how to score, they have an overview. We are glad to have them. It’s excellent not only for our fans, but also for other extra-league supporters, as they are well looked upon.” the Dukla goalkeeper agreed.
In Michalovce, they are not hiding the final goal. “We have high ambitions, but we already convinced ourselves last year that the play-offs are a completely different competition. We have to build the best possible position with the advantage of the home environment and time the form correctly. Bread will certainly be broken there. Almost every year, someone makes it to the playoffs, who maybe didn’t have such results in the regular season and, on the contrary, is the favorite of the mountains,” said the national team goalkeeper.
2023-12-12 16:30:00
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