The end of the Slovak dream of a golden triumph, the hockey players fell with the Finns. There is now bronze in the game

“It’s a great day for all of us. I knew before the Olympics that we have a very good team full of experienced players, but in every tournament there is always a question of how it will turn out. We now have a great opportunity to play for the most brilliant medal, which is amazing Pesonen rejoiced.

The Slovaks will have a duel for bronze and the premiere medal from the five-round tournament on Saturday. In Vancouver 2010, they did not manage the match for third place when they lost to Finland. The Suomi hockey players have only been in the Olympic finals once since the start of the playoffs in 1992, and were not enough for Sweden in Turin 2006. “These are the biggest matches you can play, so we will enjoy every moment,” Pesonen said.

The repetition of the duel from the basic group, in which the Finns won 6: 2, offered careful hockey in the beginning. Neither team wanted to offer their opponents a greater chance with an unnecessary mistake. The Slovaks were well aware that they lost the last duel due to three goals collected in the first period.

Nevertheless, the Finns took the lead when Manninen prevailed in the 16th minute, who overcame Rybár after Lindbohm’s shot. The striker Ufa scored the fourth goal in the tournament and again prevailed against Slovakia. He contributed a hat-trick to the previous win.

The Slovaks were able to equalize at the end of the first period, but Hrivík and Pospíšil did not use their opportunities. Captain Hrivík had the best chance in the 24th minute after Slafkovsky’s pass, who managed to outsmart Säteri as well. But the puck could not direct the “bluff” to the exposed Finnish goal.

“I don’t know what to say. I was fast, I tried to control the puck, but unfortunately I got out of the angle and didn’t hit the goal. Unfortunately, I didn’t score a goal and that’s the end of it,” said Marek Hrivík.

Shortly before the middle of the match, Čerešňák and Regenda were eliminated and the Finns had a 73-second advantage of a five-on-three power play, but they did not beat Rybář a second time. Slafkovský was able to equalize, but Slafkovský did not succeed in the 36th minute or in the third part, when at the end of the weakening he was looking for Krištof with a pass.

The Slovaks did not score, on the contrary, they collected for the second time during the power play. Finland thus confirmed that Slovakia is its favorite rival. He has not lost to him at major events – the World Championships and the Olympic Games – since 2004.

“The whole team played great. It’s about mistakes and who will take advantage of them. Jim managed to score one goal. But I think it was a balanced duel, even though the Finns were favorites and we were an outsider. We were able to match them in speed. It is a great pity, “said defender Peter Ceresnak, one of the eight extra-league representatives in the Slovak team in the match.

XXIV. Beijing Winter Olympics:

Men’s Hockey Semifinals:

Finland – Slovakia 2: 0 (1: 0, 0: 0, 1: 0)

Goals and recordings: 16. Manninen (Lindbohm, Vatanen), 60. Pesonen (Hartikainen, Pokka). Judges: Björk (Sweden), Romasko-Lazarev (both Russians), McCrank (CAN). Exclusion: 0: 3. No use. Attendance: 1071.

Finsko: Säteri – Pokka, Ohtamaa, Hietanen, M. Lehtonen, Vatanen, Lindbohm, Kemiläinen, Friman – Anttila, Björninen, Mäenalanen – Hartikainen, Manninen, Markus Granlund – Pakarinen, Filppula, Pesonen – Komarov, Joonas Nättinen, Aaltonen. Coach: Jukka Jalonen.

Slovakia: Rybár – Čerešňák, Čajkovský, Rosandič, Marinčin, Kňažko, Gernát, Nemec – Cehlárik, Hrivík, Slafkovský – Jurčo, L. Hudáček, Pospíšil – Kelemen, Krištof, Zuzin – Takáč, M. Roman, Regenda – Daňo. Coach: Craig Ramsay.

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