Three goal second period leads Slovaks over Japan

They looked unconvincing at times, and even went behind, but Slovakia 18 eventually ran out 4-1 victors over Japan 18 in the second game of the Division 1A World Championships in Piešťany. Whilst the Slovaks were the superior team, the Japanese put up a brave fight, but ultimately the Slovaks had too much for them to handle, scoirng three times in thirteen second period minutes to seal the win, which leaves them clear leaders in the group after Norway lost to Italy in the afternoon game.

The first period was littered with penalties, as both teams cut ruts to the penalty box. The Japanese seemed to catch the Slovaks sleeping in the first few minutes, as Richard Sabol made a fine sprawling save in the opening minute of the game. Despite this, Slovakia started to get into the game as the minutes ticked down in the first period, firing 12 shots on Akira Sasaki in the Japanese goal, but none of them found the net.

As they did in the opening frame, the Japanese started the second period the better team, and they managed to take the lead in the second minute. After the Slovaks cleared the puck following a period of sustained Japanese pressure, a sloppy piece of play gave the guests a 2 on 1 chance, which was expertly converted by Yuri Terao, faking a shot before cutting inside and sniping it over Sabol's shoulder. However, this seemed to be the wake up call that the home side needed, and they finally began to convert their chances. A brilliant stretch pass by defenceman Tomáš Rusina, sent in hatrick hero from yesterday Marko Daňo in alone on goal, and he made no mistake, switching to his backhand and finding the goal, only 52 seconds after Terao had made it 0:1. Compared to the first period, there were very few penalties in the second period, but Slovakia had the better of the play. Their dominance was rewarded with a second goal in the 34th minute as Daňo turned provider, and after a good bit of work in the neutral zone, set up Mário Lunter, who scored on his backhand to give the Slovaks the lead. The wheels were truly in motion now, as two minutes later Slovakia scored their third. A lovely pass from Milan Kolena set up Martin Reway in the slot, and the Sparta Praha prospect made no mistake, finding the top corner perfectly with a snapshot. 

The Slovaks lead 3:1 after two periods, but once again began the third period on the back foot. However, they were given a powerplay chance early in the period, and after failing to convert in the first period, they made no mistake on their first chance in the final period, as Reway scored his second of the game. Reway was the first to react from a rebound off a Daňo point shot, and his backhand found the twine, giving Reway his second goal of the night, whilst Daňo got his third point of the game, giving him seven overall in the tournament so far. Sabol was only forced to make 13 saves in the game, whilst the Slovaks managed to get 48 on the Japanese, who swapped Sasaki for Yuichiro Sato halfway through the third period.

Another positive result for Bokroš' men, who now have a day off before facing Slovenia on Saturday.

Bokroš finalises Slovakia Under-18 squad

Richard Sabol will be the go to guy for Slovakia
Photo: Majo Srnik

Tomorrow sees the start of the Division 1A World Under-18 Championships in Piešťany, and sees the start of Slovakia's attempt to reclaim their place in the top division following their relegation last year. After two warm up games with Belarus, where the teams shared victories, Slovakia have cut down their squad from 28 to a final 23, with the coaching staff hoping that this will be the team to do the job.

The final roster is as follows:

Netminders: Richard Sabol (HC '05 Banská Bystrica), Patrik Romančík (HK 36 Skalica), Denis Godla (HK Spišská Nová Ves)

Defenseman: Jakub Predajnianský (HC '05 Banská Bystrica), Patrik Luža, Michal Valjent (both HC Slovan Bratislava), Tomáš Rusina (MHC Mountfield Martin / MHK D. Kubín), Richard Buri (HC Nitra), Ľubomír Dinda (HK ŠKP Poprad), Peter Šohajda (HK 36 Skalica), Denis Šimek (HK Trnava)

Forwards: Mário Lunter, Eduard Šimun (both HC '05 Banská Bystrica), Stanislav Horanský, Dominik Rehák (both MsHK Žilina), Marko Daňo, Patrik Koyš, (both HK Dukla Trenčín), Milan Kolena (HC Mountfield Martin), Daniel Rzavský (HC Nitra), Dávid Gríger (HK ŠKP Poprad), Dávid Šoltés (HC Košice), Martin Reway (HC Sparta Praha/Czech Republic), Matej Paulovič (Färjestad BK/Sweden).

The players who didn't make the cut are defencemen Martin Chrkavý (Topoľčany) and Martin Kečkeš (Falu/Sweden), whilst forwards Tomáš Paleček (MsHK Žilina), Ján Blaško (HK Dukla Trenčín) and Denis Šimurka (EHC Linz/Austria) will miss out on a place in the final squad.

Bokroš, the head coach of both the Under-18 and Under-20 programs, was pragmatic in his interview with SZLH yesterday (link). "We've had a year-long preparation, in which we played five tournaments and tried 51 players. We have done the maximum to ensure the team is the best available. I believe that we are mentally and physically prepared to handle the challenge. A difficult task awaits us over the next seven days. We must win five games. We know about it and we have to handle it."

Marko Daňo impressed with the Under-20's.
Photo: Peter Kapusta (KITA)

The squads strengths lie in its forwards and netminding, however, the defence looks a bit thin on the ground. The only players ranked by the ISS for the upcoming 2012 NHL Entry draft are defencemen Patrik Luža and Richard Buri  who are ranked 80th and 94th respectively among European skaters, whilst Žilina forward Stanislav Horanský is ranked 120th in the same category. In goal for the Slovaks will more than likely be Richard Sabol, who was the third goaltender for the Under-20 team in the World Junior Championships in the winter, and has had a very promising year for Banská Bystrica in the Under-20 domestic league. The only other player who represented Slovakia U-20 in Alberta was forward  Marko Daňo, who was one of the finds of the tournament, as the 17 year old, originally used in a fourth line role, found himself on the first line for the final game against the Czech Republic, and scored in the game against Finland. Daňo, draft eligible in 2013, has spent a lot of his season with the Dukla Extraliga team, scoring 10 points in 32 Slovak Extraliga games, whilst also tallying three points in the playoffs, where his side were eliminated by Slovan Bratislava.

There are a number of exciting forward prospects for Slovakia who are draft eligible in 2013, with the biggest name being Martin Reway. A member of the "'95 group", Reway has made the switch to the Czech Republic and is currently a member of the Sparta Praha youth program, where he has excelled at the Under-18 level. Reway scored two goals in Slovakia's 5-3 win over Belarus on Sunday, and he looks set to be a star of the tournament. However, two other members of the same year group have struggled in their pre-tournament form.  Matej Paulovič and 16 year old Patrik Koyš were both on the bubble when it came to the final cuts, but they managed to make the squad. Both played on the fourth line for Slovakia in the pre-tournament games, and have not shown their best form as of yet. Paulovič, who scored 28 points in 17 J18 Elit games for Färjestad this year has a mix of size and pace which could make him a very exciting prospect for NHL scouts next year, whilst Koyš, who was a point per game in the Slovakia U-20 league as a 16 year old, has looked out of sorts with the national team so far. 

The tournament begins on the 11th of April, and anything but promotion will be a huge failure for the program, and could see a number of top prospects lose potential draft status by not playing against the worlds best juniors only a couple of months before the draft.