photo: Andre Ringuette/IIHF
Mislav Rosandic's power-play goal at 9:13 of the third period broke a 1-1 tie and propelled Slovakia to a crucial 2-1 win over France this afternoon at Avicii Arena.
The win gives Slovakia a 2-0-1-1 record for seven points and moves them into third place in Group A. France falls to 0-0-1-3 and remains in seventh place with a single point.
"Today was a tough day," admitted Slovakian forward Samuel Takac. "We can't be happy with how we performed, but the most important thing is we found a way to win the game. The three points are important for us, but I hope we can play better. In this tournament, every game is hard. Every team plays tough. They have a couple of skilled players who played in the NHL. They're a skilled team."
“We're disappointed," said Hugo Gallet. "It was a close game and a physical game. We were close, but not close enough. We came back to tie the game and had chances to score another, but the puck just wouldn’t go in. It's frustrating."
The loss spoiled a great performance from 20-year-old goalie Antoine Keller, who stopped 33 of 35 shots fired his way. Samuel Hlavaj wasn't as busy but was just as impressive for Slovakia, turning aside 19 of 20 pucks.
"We played a really good game," Keller added. "We had chances to score, to win the game. We just couldn't score at the end."
We’re getting to that point in the preliminary round when each game becomes more important and can mean significant movement, or not, in the standings. Up next for France on Friday is Austria, another monster game if France is to either qualify for the playoffs or avoid relegation. Slovakia has two days off before playing Canada on Saturday.
The first period was cautious and conservative in the extreme as neither team wanted to commit that error that would force them to have rally for a win. Yet France scored the first goal early…only to have it called back on a coach’s challenge for offside.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare brought the puck in over the blue line and got it to Tim Bozon, and his quick shot beat Hlavaj between the legs just 1:25 into the game. But video review showed Bellemare’s skates were inside the blue line before the puck. No goal.
Soon after, Bellemare incurred the game’s first penalty, but France’s penalty killing was spot on to keep the game goalless.
The Slovaks dominated the second period but came out of it only in a 1-1 tie. They opened the scoring midway through on a mad scramble in front of Keller. Martin Chromiak pushed the puck over the goal line while sitting on his butt, and then the team had several other great chances to increase their lead.
Maxim Cajkovic was the benefactor of a turnover at the France blue line. He went in alone, but his hard shot was picked off nicely by Keller with the left glove. Soon after, while short-handed, Takac had a partial breakaway but shot wide. And then Keller made a sensational save off an equally sensational play by Slovakia.
Chromiak timed a pass perfectly to Samuel Honzek, charging to the goal, but his deflection was stopped by the goalie to keep it a one-goal game.
All of this added up to a series of missed opportunities that proved costly. Aurelien Dair fed Louis Boudon with a pass inside the Slovakia blue line, and Boudon ripped a high shot over Hlavaj’s glove at 14:34 to tie the game.
That set the stage for Rosandic. France failed to score with Keller on the bench in the dying minutes, and after the final horn players on ice tangled and jostled. Referees assessed three major penalties and game misconducts to two Slovaks, Pavol Regenda and Patrik Hrehorcak, and one Frenchman, Jordann Perret.
The win gives Slovakia a 2-0-1-1 record for seven points and moves them into third place in Group A. France falls to 0-0-1-3 and remains in seventh place with a single point.
"Today was a tough day," admitted Slovakian forward Samuel Takac. "We can't be happy with how we performed, but the most important thing is we found a way to win the game. The three points are important for us, but I hope we can play better. In this tournament, every game is hard. Every team plays tough. They have a couple of skilled players who played in the NHL. They're a skilled team."
“We're disappointed," said Hugo Gallet. "It was a close game and a physical game. We were close, but not close enough. We came back to tie the game and had chances to score another, but the puck just wouldn’t go in. It's frustrating."
The loss spoiled a great performance from 20-year-old goalie Antoine Keller, who stopped 33 of 35 shots fired his way. Samuel Hlavaj wasn't as busy but was just as impressive for Slovakia, turning aside 19 of 20 pucks.
"We played a really good game," Keller added. "We had chances to score, to win the game. We just couldn't score at the end."
We’re getting to that point in the preliminary round when each game becomes more important and can mean significant movement, or not, in the standings. Up next for France on Friday is Austria, another monster game if France is to either qualify for the playoffs or avoid relegation. Slovakia has two days off before playing Canada on Saturday.
The first period was cautious and conservative in the extreme as neither team wanted to commit that error that would force them to have rally for a win. Yet France scored the first goal early…only to have it called back on a coach’s challenge for offside.
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare brought the puck in over the blue line and got it to Tim Bozon, and his quick shot beat Hlavaj between the legs just 1:25 into the game. But video review showed Bellemare’s skates were inside the blue line before the puck. No goal.
Soon after, Bellemare incurred the game’s first penalty, but France’s penalty killing was spot on to keep the game goalless.
The Slovaks dominated the second period but came out of it only in a 1-1 tie. They opened the scoring midway through on a mad scramble in front of Keller. Martin Chromiak pushed the puck over the goal line while sitting on his butt, and then the team had several other great chances to increase their lead.
Maxim Cajkovic was the benefactor of a turnover at the France blue line. He went in alone, but his hard shot was picked off nicely by Keller with the left glove. Soon after, while short-handed, Takac had a partial breakaway but shot wide. And then Keller made a sensational save off an equally sensational play by Slovakia.
Chromiak timed a pass perfectly to Samuel Honzek, charging to the goal, but his deflection was stopped by the goalie to keep it a one-goal game.
All of this added up to a series of missed opportunities that proved costly. Aurelien Dair fed Louis Boudon with a pass inside the Slovakia blue line, and Boudon ripped a high shot over Hlavaj’s glove at 14:34 to tie the game.
That set the stage for Rosandic. France failed to score with Keller on the bench in the dying minutes, and after the final horn players on ice tangled and jostled. Referees assessed three major penalties and game misconducts to two Slovaks, Pavol Regenda and Patrik Hrehorcak, and one Frenchman, Jordann Perret.
Slovakia vs France - 2025 IIHF WM
OF