Slovakia organizes a huge surprise for the Olympics – the coach thanked Finland
MILANO.
Slovakia is the first team to reach the semifinals in the men’s ice hockey tournament at the Olympics.
Slovakia defeated Germany in the quarterfinals with a score of 6-2. Slovakia was not expected to be this strong beforehand.
After the Germany game, Slovakia’s head coach Vladimir Orszagh expressed gratitude towards Finland.
– The first match against Finland helped us a lot. We realized that we can play against the best, Orszagh said.
– We will stick to our plan and aim for our dream. I couldn’t be prouder of my players.
– If we want to succeed, everyone has to be good, not just two players. To me, all players are heroes – whether a player played 20 minutes or two minutes.
Both Orszagh and Slovakia’s superstar Juraj Slafkovsky said that Slovakia aimed to take advantage of the fact that Germany had to play in the first round of the playoffs as well.
– We wanted to put them under a lot of pressure, we knew they had played yesterday. We tried to take away space and time from their top lines, Orszagh said.
– We maintained a high intensity from the start. When they got into the game, we defended well, Slafkovsky commented.
Slafkovsky had to be treated on the bench during the game. It shouldn’t be anything serious.
– I twisted my ankle when I fell against the boards. The ice pack helps with everything. I kept ice on it for a while and was ready to get back on the ice.
Jaakko Perttilä
X: @JaakkoPerttila
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