Belarus and Slovakia exchange victories in Euro Ice Hockey Challenge

The Belarusian national ice hockey team won 4-3 in the return leg of the Belarus vs. Slovakia tie at the Euro Ice Hockey Challenge in Bobruisk, Belarus, on 13 April after a 0-3 first-leg defeat in Zhlobin, Belarus, on 12 April.

As many as 5,860 supporters at Bobruisk-Arena watched Belarus overpowering the Slovakian opponents. The Belarusian national ice hockey team’s lines were as follows: Vitaly Belinsky; Pavel Chernook - Ilya Kaznadei, Alexander Kulakov - Alexander Kitarov - Dmitry Meleshko; Oleg Goroshko - Andrei Filichkin, Yevgeny Kovyrshin - Konstantin Koltsov (captain) - Alexei Ugarov; Ilya Shinkevich - Alexander Yeronov, Yevgeny Solomonov - Andrei Stas - Alexei Yefimenko; Artyom Kisly - Artyom Demkov - Vyacheslav Andryushchenko; Yevgeny Lisovets.

Goals: 1-0 - Vyacheslav Andryushchenko (Ilya Shinkevich, Yevgeny Kovyrshin, 17.00, power play), 2-0 - Artyom Demkov (Artyom Kisly, Andrei Filichkin, 18.44, power play), 3-0 - Vyacheslav Andryushchenko (Artyom Kisly, 23.34), 3-1 - Peter Olvecky (Martin Bartek, 39.51, power play), 3-2 - Jozef Stumpel (Branislav Mezei, 43.51), 4-2 - Alexander Kulakov (Pavel Chernook, Alexei Yefimenko, 48.11, 5-on-3 power play), 4-3 - Vladimir Mihalik (Roman Kukumberg, 55.45, power play).

Shots: 24-23 (9-6, 7-7, 8-10).

Penalties: Belarus - 10 (Ilya Kaznadei, Oleg Goroshko, Artyom Kisly, Pavel Chernook and a team penalty – 2 minutes), Slovakia – 12 (Jan Brejcak, Vladimir Mihalik, Rene Vydareny, Michael Vandas, Branislav Mezei and Jaroslav Janus).

Men of the match: Alexander Kulakov - Branislav Mezei.

Artyom Kisly and Artyom Demkov, who did not play in the first leg, added effectiveness and passion to Belarus’ attacks. Artyom Kisly made two assists, while Artyom Demkov managed to get on the scoresheet. Vyacheslav Andryushchenko, who played in the same line, netted twice.

In the second match Belarus were much better in the final third and did not waste power play opportunities, three goals coming when Slovakia were one or two men down.

The 0-3 whitewash ended Belarus’ two-game winning streak. Belarus got two victories over Germany, a 4-3 penalty shot success in Minsk on 5 April and a 4-2 win in Soligorsk on 6 April).

During the preparation for the 2013 IIHF World Championship Belarus will play the Euro Ice Hockey Challenge matches against Latvia in Riga on 19-20 April. Then Andrei Skabelka’s team partake in the international Slovakian Cup tournament that will be held in Bratislava on 25-26 April. On 1 May Belarus depart for Sweden to play at the 2013 IIHF World Championship.

The World Championship in Sweden and Finland will be held from 3 to 19 May. Belarus have been drawn in group S and will face the Czech Republic on 3 May, Slovenia on 5 May, Sweden on 6 May, Canada on 10 May, Norway on 11 May, Denmark on 13 May and Switzerland on 14 May. Top four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinal, while the worst teams from two groups will be relegated to Division I Group A, which is the second most important division under the aegis of the IIHF. Belarus, however, cannot be relegated this season as the country plays host to the 2014 IIHF World Championship.