yesterday 07:10
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This year’s jubilee thirtieth playoff of the hockey extra league aspires to be the most interesting we have seen so far. Fans enjoy attractive hockey full of dramatic twists and turns, which draw decent visitors to the stands. A historical anomaly that few expected came true right in the quarterfinals. The semi-final fights will continue only in the territory of central and eastern Slovakia. After the shocking elimination of Slovan, the traditionally strong West was left without a single representative.
What actually happened in the series that Slovan dared to turn around at 1:3 per game? Even after the last Sunday’s match in Michalovci, Bratislava coach Ján Pardavý did not deny his players their efforts. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Michalovce were simply better, more determined, more consistent and deservedly advanced.
The main causes were to varying degrees. In the first row, the attentive Stanislav Škorvánek stood in the goal of Michaloviec, who did not even need miraculous interventions, but was reliable and radiated calmness and confidence. The fresh national team goalkeeper confirmed his form in the six quarter-final matches with a success rate of 94.92 percent, an average of 1.97 conceded goals per match, and in the crucial last match of the series he picked up zero.
The young “fox” coach, Bratislava native Peter Kúdelka, proved to be a great motivator and tactical strategist. In the play-off qualification, his team was first eliminated by Trenčín, against whom they had to reach the bottom of their forces, and then they faced the favored Slovan, who had been at the top of the table for the longest time in the regular season.
“Slovan’s orchestra creaked especially when passing through the middle zone, where its quality forwards lost speed.”
Ľubomír Pokovič
former representative and long-time coach
Shortly before the quarter-finals, however, Slovan’s orchestra was creaking, especially when passing through the middle zone, where its quality attackers were losing speed. Legionnaires from overseas Pecararo and Harris threatened the opponent’s goal, but more was expected from Haščák and Takač. However, the main difference between the winning Michaloviec team and Slovan was the level of their motivation.
Despite numerous injuries, the “Foxes” threw themselves into personal battles emphatically, did not underestimate any puck and honestly collected the famous decisive details. The defense of Michaloviec was led by the 202-centimeter-tall and experienced 36-year-old captain Vladimír Mihálik as a tall watchtower.
The remaining two series Košice – Nitra (4:1) and Zvolen – Nové Zámky (4:1) also offered spectators busy hockey. Zvolen’s coach Peter Oremus proved to be a far-sighted strategist when he reversed two attempts by the Zámčani team to win the opening home games. Although Nitra tried everything possible with their nimble attackers, the people of Košice coolly sailed into the semi-finals.
As a representative of the youth hockey club in Bratislava’s Ružinov, I am pleased that our cadets made a very good case for themselves in this year’s play-offs and strengthened the representation of Slovak hockey players with the logical superiority of the Legionnaires of Difference. Roman Žitný returned to the Michaloviec lineup after his injury and managed to score two goals. Another student, Šimon Petráš, scored 26 goals and collected 41 points in 50 games of the regular season for Trenčín.
Defender Martin Vitaloš and striker Filip Krivošík also played in Nitra, before and now Slovan striker Daniil Fominych. Roman Kukumberg Jr. also got a chance in Slovan. Naturally, the biggest pride of our club with approximately three hundred children are Jaroslav Halák and Martin Fehérváry in the NHL. A lot of other young people flew abroad, but we don’t make a tragedy out of it. We make sure that our athletes feel good and find quality coaches and valuable relationships, which we do well.
The author is a former representative and long-time coach
