Ice Hockey World Championship U18 2022: Coach Ivan Feneš: Slovaks have once again shown that we are a hockey nation – ŠPORT.SK

today 09:00 | The Slovak national hockey team also won its second match at the domestic UA Under-18 World Championships. She thus took an important step towards advancing among the elite, as she defeated Norway’s best opponent on paper. Read also VIDEO: World Hockey Championship U18 2022: Slovakia turned the duel with Norway, to triumph … The Slovaks had a slower start, they lost the first third 1: 2, but in the second and third their quality was already fully demonstrated and finally they triumphed 5: 2. The team was also helped by HK Nitra players Šimon Nemec and Adam Sýkora, who came to help only this one duel. After the meeting, we talked to the head coach Ivan Feneš. How would you rate the match? “Great scenery in Piešťany. It was a beautiful hockey evening for Slovakia. When so many spectators come to see these young talented boys (it was sold out, editor’s note), it shows that there is a huge interest in hockey. The Slovaks have once again shown that we are a hockey nation. The victory was not easy and we appreciate it immensely. The opponent showed that he was of extreme quality and our pre-match concerns were in place. The match hurt us a lot, we had to make money to win. In the first period we had three eliminations in a row, it absolutely threw us out of the match. We also collected a goal at that time. We saw that they were putting us under enormous pressure in powerlifting, we needed to stop it. But then we took control of the match. ” Read also VIDEO: World Hockey Championship U18 2022: See the goal moments from the match Slovakia -… Did you have to tame the players a bit? The Norwegians tried to provoke them and played quite aggressively. “This is also our task to manage the match, because there have already been some reactions. The guys showed that they have a huge character and we clearly went for the victory. ” Did you accentuate them at the moments when you lost and you didn’t manage to be calm enough for the goals to come? “We have a principle: small steps to big things, and we have fulfilled that today. The match didn’t work out in our favor at first, but we knew that if we made good decisions at important moments, we would turn it around. ” How much did Šimon Nemec and Adam Sýkora help? “Probably everyone who watched the match saw what they meant to us. They just confirmed it on the ice. Simon (German) is a huge leader in the locker room. ‘Syky’ (Adam Sýkora) is a huge heartworm, he always leaves everything on the ice. These were huge reinforcements for us. They brought a lot of experience to the team. Our key players were at the decisive moments. But not only them, the whole team gave a great performance. ” Simon Nemec did not play the last minutes of the match … “It is necessary to respect that he has a long play-off series with Nitra in front of him. We wanted to save him a little. ” What will be your program? You have a day off on Wednesday, you only play on Thursday. “First of all, relax, you need to throw the first two matches behind. Any hesitation in the tournament after these two wins would be a sin. We will make a summary of duels and go to prepare for the next one. ” Also read the Program of Slovakia at the World Hockey Championship under 18 years 2022 I. Division