Hungary picks up point against France

2017.12.11. 21:21 |

In the second game of the World Championships Hungary took on the host nation France in a closely fought game that was decided in extra time.

Hungary-France 3-4 OT

Head coach Jarmo Tolvanen made some changes in the lineup, Máte Garbacz got the start in net this time with yesterday’s starting goalie Balázs Tóth serving as the backup. The defensive pairings remained the same, however in the forward units Marcell Révész was placed with Ákos Mihály and  Andor Péter, Kristóf Papp centered the line of  Gergely Tóth and Barnabás Majoross. Brunó Kreisz was between Dávid Molnár and  Nátán Vértes with Ákos Szigeti being the 13th forward.

Hungary struck first as Nándor Fejes took a pass from Nátán Vértes, skated down the left wing and took a snapshot from the right wing to give Hungary a 1-0 lead in the third minute of play. Soon after Garbacz made a close save, on the ensuing rush Révész hit the crossbar. In the first half of the period Hungary killed a penalty, but were not able to score on their first man advantage. Later in the period France had a 2 on 1 that  Garbacz snuffed out with a flick of a wrist. Later in the period France had a two man advantage that Hungary killed, however France scored on the back end of the power play to tie the game up at 1-1. In the closing minutes of the first period France took their first lead of the game with a shot from the slot that made it through and into the back of the net. Hungary answered back in the final minute of play in the period when a Fejes shot was saved but Zsolt Szalma was on the spot to put the rebound home to tie it up at 2-2.

In the second period Hungary came out with the same bit as they finished up the first period. Gergely Tóth had an excellent chance in from in front of the net. Minutes later Bálint Horváth fed Zsolt Szalma from the corner who one timed it past the goalie to make it 3-2. Both Vértes and Szalma had chances later in the period to open up a two goal lead. Throughout the rest of the period the game had a nice pace as both teams were building attacks, however there were no solid chances until France had a shot with just over five minutes left in the period, however Garbacz pulled it out of the air. In the closing minutes of the period Garbacz made a number big save to keep the game at 3-2 for Hungary.

The first scoring chance in the third period came on the first shift as a French shot hit the post. France had a power play, the closest they had to scoring was on a shot that had made it past Garbacz but Pokornyi was on the spot to scoop the puck out of the air. At the midway point of the period France started to pepper the goal with shots, but Garbacz stood his ground. Barnabás Majoross skated down the left wing and sliced in front of the net but was unable to put the puck past the goalie. France had another scoring chance with just over seven minutes left off of a rebound but the shot sailed wide of the net. Both teams really started to grind as the minutes melted off of the clock. Hungary got pinned in their own end for a long time, the result was a French goal as a shot deflected down and into the back of the net as France tied the game up at  3-3. In the closing minutes  it looked like Bálint Horváth was going to skate in on a breakaway however he was tripped up and no penalty was called. France kept the Hungarian net under pressure during the closing minute of the game however the score stayed at 3-3 after 60 minutes of play and the game went  into overtime.

In overtime Horváth had a shot go wide, later Hungary was called for an unjust extra attacker on the ice. On the first shot of the power play. France picked up the win in overtime.

Line against France
Szalma, Horváth, Szita
Révész, Péter, Mihály
Tóth, Papp, Majoross
Molnár, Kreisz, Vértes
Szigeti

Szabó, Fejes
Kiss, Sándor
Pokornyi, Sarcia
Vas

Garbacz (B.Tóth

Máté Garbacz, goalie: It was a big game but I tried to go about the game as if it was a regular U20 game. The guys played great and the coaching staff did a great job as well. I didn’t look at who we were playing, I just tried to do my job and stop the puck. There was pressure but every athlete likes to perform when there is pressure on them.

Márk Vas, defenseman: It was nice to pick up our first point of the tournament, it was an exciting game. We had the lead for a long time, but the French team real had pressure on us towards the end and they were able to tie the game up. We were on the same level as them I think.

Ákos Mihály, forward: This was a positive sign that we can play a game like this against the French, we had the lead for a long time and we had created a number of chances. They capitalised on their and we were unable to. Now we will have a day off to recover and to get ready for the next day.

Division 1/A World Championships Schedule:
HUNGARY-Latvia 1-4
HUNGARY-France 3-4 OT
HUNGARY-Kazakstan Wednesday 15:30
HUNGARY-Germany Friday 13:00
HUNGARY-Austria Saturday 16:00

Roster

Name Pos. Club YOB
Garbacz Máté G Vasas 1998
Tóth Balázs G Linz (AUT) 1999
Fejes Nándor D MAC 1999
Kiss Roland D UTE 1999
Pokornyi Dávid D UTE 2000
Sándor Flórián D Fehérvár AV19 1999
Sarica Antonino D MAC 1998
Szabó Bence D Fehérvár AV19 1998
Vas Márk D Fehérvár AV19 1999
Horváth Bálint FW Rögle (SWE) 1999
Kreisz Brúnó FW KalPa (FIN) 1999
Majoross Barnabás FW MAC 1998
Mihály Ákos FW Fehérvár AV19 1999
Molnár Dávid FW MAC 1998
Papp Kristóf FW Honeybaked (USA) 2001
Péter Andor FW Fehérvár AV19 1999
Révész Marcell FW Zürich (SUI) 2000
Szalma Zsolt FW UTE 1999
Szigeti Ákos FW Springfield (USA) 1999
Szita Donát FW Fehérvár AV19 1998
Tóth Gergely FW MAC 1998
Vértes Nátán FW Fehérvár AV19 2000

 Staff

Jarmo Tolvanen Head Coach
Fodor Szabolcs Assistant Coach
Kiss Dávid Assistant Coach
Várady Csaba Goalie Coach
Bagonya Imre Physio
Egri Gergely Sports Director
Magyar Péter Equipmeant Manager
Szilágyi Levente Team Manager
Závodszky Szabolcs Media Manager