Up to ten goals were scored in the derby. The Slovaks enjoyed the Hungarians, they will fight for the promotion to the Olympics against the Kazakhs – Representation – Hockey

Slovak ice hockey players succeeded in their second match at the final qualifying tournament for the 2026 Olympic Games. On Friday, they defeated Hungarian players 7:3 at the Ondrej Nepela winter stadium in Bratislava. They will fight directly for a place at the Olympics in Italy on Sunday at 18:00 against Kazakhstan, which also has two victories to its credit.

Slovak hockey players are within reach of advancing to the Olympics.

Only the winner of each of the three final qualifying groups will advance to the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. In addition to the Bratislava D-group, the same tournament is also played in Riga (Latvia, France, Slovenia, Ukraine) and Aalborg (Denmark, Norway, Great Britain, Japan).

The Slovaks started actively and immediately threatened the opponent in his defensive zone. However, at the beginning of the third minute, the home team Koch fouled and the Hungarians took advantage of the power play after Nilsson’s accurate shot.

The Slovakian team responded with the same weapon when Ambrus punished Hrivík with a quick stop for a foul – 1:1.

In the middle of the third, Regenda could send the home team into the lead after a back pass from Sýkor. In the 13th minute, the defender Gernát found himself alone in front of the goalkeeper Vay, but his finish was thwarted by the back-checking Garát.

The Slovaks increased the pressure, then they had an almost two-minute numerical advantage of two players. In it, Hudáček was close to a goal at first, but his shot was neutralized by Vay. The post after Lantoš’s attempt also helped the Hungarian goalkeeper.

At the beginning of the middle part, a German shot called for a goal, but the Slovakian defender only aimed at Vaya. Sukeľ managed to score only in the 26th minute, who first made an excellent forehand during the opponent’s pass and then benefited from the combination of Sýkor and Líšek.

An unpleasant moment came in the middle of the meeting, when the puck heading behind the Slovakian goal tried to skate by the German, who was attacked by Bence Horváth, while the German flew uncontrollably into the goalpost after the collision and after a while headed for the locker room.

Ramsay’s team was calmed down in the 37th minute by Grman, who skated in front of the goal and only put his stick in Cingela’s pass. More significant activity was documented after 40 minutes by the unequivocal superiority of the Slovak team in the ratio of 27:7.

The third act brought an interesting part, when up to four goals were scored within 116 seconds, two on both sides. First, Regenda sent the home team into a three-goal lead, to which Bartalis responded 20 seconds later after Gernát hesitated.

Subsequently, it was time for Hudáček, who with an individual action imitated his accurate shot from the past WC in the Czech Republic. Back to the difference of two goals, Bartalis scored. The Slovaks already managed the end at an exhibition pace and Tatar and Lantoš adjusted the final score to 7:3 within 17 seconds.