Thorough preparation for the opponent, but also the combativeness and excellent performances of the goalkeeper Stanislav Škorvánek were decisive factors in the progress of the Michaloviec hockey players to the semi-finals of the Tipos extraliga play off.
Photo: TASR, František Iván
The joy of Michaloviec hockey players with their fans.
After the series with Slovan Bratislava, coach Peter Kudelka acknowledged that the opponent’s player quality was better, but he emphasized the commitment and fighting spirit of his team all the more.
At the same time, Michalovci became the first team to advance to the top four of the extra league after taking 8th place in the regular season.
The people of Michalov won the series 4:2 for the matches after ending it with a 3:0 home triumph. In it, the goals of defenders Zach Osburn and Christián Michalčin in short succession in the middle of the second period proved to be key.
Holiday striker Michalčin, who did not score even once in the regular season, scored two goals in the semi-finals. This fact also seems to demonstrate that the play off is a completely different competition. “Few people believed that we could beat Slovan.
It’s a great feeling. Next we have Košice, and that’s a bit more for me than Slovan, so I’m really looking forward to it,” commented Michalčin.
An important factor in Michal’s progress was the performance in defense, which was supported by goalkeeper Stanislav Škorvánek. In 6 games, he conceded only 12 goals, achieved a 94.92 percent save success rate, an average of 1.96 goals conceded and ended the series with his fourth clean sheet of the season.
“The final match of the series was one of the best from our side. My teammates helped me a lot, and two goals in a short period in a row were also important.
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In the series, we focused a lot on home games. In them we found that we can win. We went from match to match and it worked,” Škorvánek assessed.
Michalov hockey players were aware before the series that their favorite was Slovan. This position suited them, but even considering the mutual matches in the regular season, they believed in each other. Until then, they only lost to Slovan in the opening match of the season, the next three matches ended with their victory.
Finally, they defeated the “Whites” in all five home duels in the year. “The mutual matches in the regular season showed that we know how to play against Slovan. It was important that in every match in which we won, we presented ourselves with quality defense.
Our team has great character and they proved it by being able to beat a team like Slovan,” said striker Dávid Buc, who closed the score of the last match in the series with a goal into an empty net.
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“We thoroughly analyzed the Slav. We had special meetings before every game. We knew how they play and what needs to be done. We are glad that it worked out for us,” he added.
The series had a special charge for Michaloviec coach Petar Kudelka. The native of Bratislava was the third head coach of Dukla in the 2022/2023 season after Tom Coolen and Roman Stantien.
He made his debut in the position in the regular season at Slovan, and the 3:2 victory seemed to indicate that the familiar environment would bring him success.
Finally, he led his charges to a prestigious triumph over the defending champions. “Quality was on the opponent’s side. We had an excellent goalkeeper who kept us in the game for promotion.
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The leaders of our team showed up. Despite the difficult end of the regular season, after which there was also a pre-round of the playoffs, our declining strength was not the key element,” noted Kudelka.
His charges have already managed two difficult series in the elimination part. In qualifying for the quarter-finals, Dukla Trenčín was eliminated after advancing after winning the fifth decisive match.
Even participation in the first round of the playoffs was not final for them, and they will play in the semi-finals for the second time. They will play in it from Friday, March 31 against the winner of the regular season HC Košice.
Loading sports results… Source: Pravda – Športweb – Futbal – Hokej by sportweb.pravda.sk.
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