Hungary defeats Poland in thriller

Head coach Jarmo Tolvanen went back to Miklós Rajna in net with Dávid Duschek serving as the backup goalie. Getting back into the lineup was Bronson Kovács, Tamás Pozsgai, Brance Orbán and Péter Vincze. Not playing was János Vas, Karcsi Csányi, Bence Stipsicz and Kevin Wehrs, Andrew Sarauer missed the entire tournament because of illness. Tamás Pozsgai was the captain with Bálint Magosi and Csanád Erdély as the two alternate captains. In the early game of the day Kazakhstan defeated Italy 1-0, which meant that Kazakhstan won the tournament and a win against Poland would give Hungary second place.

In the early parts of the first period both teams were trying to find a rhythm, the first scoring chance for Hungary came off of the stick of István Sofron however the shot hit the goalie square in the chest. The Hungarian penalty kill was also on the mark as Poland did not really have a clear shot on their first man advantage. Poland tried to goal for a tic-tac-toe play but did not connect on the passes. Hungary killed their second penalty of the period. As the game went deeper into the first period the game picked up its pace. Attila Pavuk had a shot that hit the Polish goalie in the mask. Mátyás Odnoga also had a great chance that just went past the side of the goal. On their third power play of the period Poland created chances, but Rajna was on the spot to make the save. Late in the period Sofron set up Erdély for a shot that missed the goal, on the next rush Erdély had another great chance that Ondrej Raszka saved.

In the second period Tamás Sárpátki set up Attila Pavuk for the short handed breakaway, however Pavuk was unable to finish. Poland had a two man advantage for 23 seconds, they didn't need that long to score a goal as Kapica scored off of a screened shot. Hungary managed to kill the back end of the second penalty. Bálint Magosi had a scoring chance in a 4 on 4 situation. The Hungarian penalties kept on coming throughout the second period, and Hungary kept on killing them.Magosi again had a chance, this time on the power play when he just missed putting a pass from Galanisz past the goalie. Soon after Hungary tied the game up as Mátyás Odnoga jumped on a loose puck in the slot and roofed it past Raszka for the goal to make it 1-1. It didn’t take long for Poland to take back the lead as Malasinki took a shot from the slot. Poland changed up their game plan a bit late in the period as they started to forecheck more than earlier in the game.

Dániel Szabó picked up an injury and did not return for the third period. in the third period with a delayed penalty being called against Poland, Brance Orbán had a shot from high in the slot that the goalie saved but Sofron was on the spot to put the rebound in. Hungary had the chance to take their first lead of the game, but a Miskolczi shot hit the post. The Polish team answered back with scoring chances as well, but Rajna stood tall in the net. Late in the period Magosi took a pass from Pozsgai in the slot and blasted it into the back of the net for the first Hungarian lead of the game.

Sofron, Orbán, Bodó
Miskolczi, Galanisz, Magosi
Odnoga, Erdély, Sárpátki
Vincze, Reisz, Pavuk

Kovács, Szabó
Láda, Garát
Pozsgai, Nagy
Varga, Kiss

Rajna (Duschek)

Scratched: Csányi, Sarauer, Vas, Stipsicz, Wehrs

Miklós Rajna, goalie: It was a pretty hard game, but we fought hard from the start. We had a lot of penalties, which is something we need to work on. Everyone worked hard and left everything on the ice.

Bálint Magosi, forward: This was a game that could go for either team and we won the game with a luckey goal. We had a lot of penalties called against us, this is something that we need to cut down in the future, especially for the World Championships. Our special teams worked well during the tournament.

Csanád Erdély, forward: It is always hard to play a full week like this but this is always a nice feeling for getting tired as we are playing for the national team. The win is a nice message as we got back for the loss to Poland back in November. The team has started to come together and has picked up the concept of the new system. We have improved a lot in the defensive zone during this time.

Tamás Pozsgai, defenseman: It was a great honor to be the team captain, everyone was grinding hard during the three games, we did not have to motivate the other players on the team. Against Poland we were able turn the game around after being twice by two goals.

Program
HUNGARY-Kazakhstan, 2-5
HUNGARY-Italy, 4-1
HUNGARY-Poland, 3-2

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