Slovakia beats Poland in dramatic showdown – 04.12.2016

Slovakia and Poland started the tournament one day later than the other nations. The European rivalry ended with Slovak victory 6-4 (2-0, 1-2, 3-2).

In the first "C" group match, Denmark achieved a big win against Australia. Polish and Slovakian side wanted to start the tournament with two points. Slovakia started with better offensive play creating a couple of scoring chances. Michal Krocko and Martin Grlicky made it 2-0 after 16:12 was played. Slovakia had two times more shots taken in the period. The most spectacular moment of the game was Juraj Matejka´s penalty shot which made it 3-0 result at 04:29 in the second period. However a 3 goal lead was not enough for the Slovaks to feel comfortable for the rest of match. Team Poland answered with two goals in the last five minutes of period. 

The Polish continued their pressure when the Slovak side lost their attacking potential. Equalizer came from Mateusz Antoniak early in the third period. The nervous game continued later in the third period with a couple of hits. Slovakia were back in front after Martin Kubovic´s goal. Poland tried to make another come back, but unfortunately for the Eastern European nation, the Slovakian goalkeeper Dominik Turek did his best till the end of the match. The game ended with 6-on-5 action and two Slovakian goals.