Hockey World Championship 2025: Slovaks lost a chance to advance and Hungarians got debacle
BRATISLAVA. Tenth playing day MS in hockey for Slovakia initially developed unexpectedly well. Slovenia has made the match with Austria into the extension, which meant a complication to our western neighbors.
If the Slovenes succeeded in overtime or raids, the Slovaks in the evening match against Latvia could ensure advance to the quarterfinals.
Finally, there was a completely opposite scenario. For the second time, the Austrians managed the raids at this championship and Vladimír Országh’s team finally lost their chance to advance among the top eight teams.
After debacle from Canada 0: 7 Clearly over the weekend They also succumbed to Latvia 1: 5. The official IIHF website came up with the headline that Latvia was shocked by Slovakia, but due to the distribution of forces, it is definitely not a shocking win.
Have paid for poor efficiency
The Slovaks entered the match well and the first period belonged to them. The 1: 1 score could have been wrong, because in addition to the goal of Nitra striker Sebastián Čederle, they had several other chances.
From the second period, however, the picture of the game has changed, the Latvians ruthlessly punished the opponent’s defensive mistakes and experienced a very important victory.
Video: Editing from the match Slovakia – Latvia at the World Championship in Hockey 2025
« I think more fights in the first part have won, but we found a way to turn it. Hockey is basically a simple game. When you win fights, then you can fill your system, » Rodrigo Abols told IIHF.
« We did not score goals again, it is our weakness. Latvians have quality and experienced players who can change the chances, » added Pavol Regenda.
His words are also confirmed by the fact that Slovakia can experience the most unsuccessful World Championship in the number of goals scored. While it scored 11 times in 1998, he has only eight hits before the last match against Finns.
« We pay for a very weak ending. When we have a chance, we have to transform it. I have a few chances today, but it didn’t work out, » Regenda said sadly.
Latvian hockey blooms
The news portal LSM.LV wrote that the national team pushed Slovakia to the sideline. It was expected that the young team would fight to advance to the last match, but the one against Finland would be just a duty.
On the contrary, the Latvians will distribute it to the quarterfinals on Tuesday with Austria, and they just need to draw them after 60 minutes.
The Latvians were not one of the teams that fought for the quarterfinals and was rather a rescue priority. Abols, who played 22 matches in the Philadelphia Flyers jersey claims that the impulse was the arrival of a Canadian coach.
« When Bob Hartley (coach at the World Championship 2017 – 2021, note) came, he changed everything and we don’t think about rescue since then. We now have a day off and I’m sure the coaches will prepare a good plan, » said the scorer of the fifth goal against Slovakia.
Hartley’s work is very well followed by Harijs Vītolinš, under whose leadership they won the Latvians bronze in 2023 and this year in Stockholm they have to reach the knockout part of the World Championship.
Have already fulfilled two of the three goals
The Austrians have been missing for more than thirty years. The last time they played in the quarter -finals of the World Championship in 1994, but the debacle 0:10 suffered against the Finns.
« We had three goals before the World Championship. First, we wanted to stay in the elite category. Second, we wanted to win three matches, which we succeeded.
And thirdly, we want to win the fourth match and advance to the quarterfinals. It will be difficult, but we are in a position to achieve it, « said team’s star Peter Schneider.
While he changed the decisive raid in the fifth series, the striker of Salzburg championship did not even get to Slovenia, because his teammates had already equipped it in the fourth series (3: 0).
« It’s great how these boys work. We have built a program and win three World Cup matches for the first time in 26 years in the last few years. I am proud to be part of this team, » he added.
The Austrians were close to the end of the quarterfinal waiting in Prague last year, but in the last match they shockingly lost to the falling Great Britain 2: 4, giving the procedure to the Finnish.
Ambühl shot a hetrik
On Sunday, the group in Herning continued, where the Americans easily coped with Kazakhstan 6: 1 and was also born the first two -digit result after the Hungarians caught the unpopular ten.
Even at 32 minutes, they held a relatively flattering score of 0: 2, ten minutes before the end, it was 0: 5, but the score stopped at 0:10.
« It was a tough match for us. We let them in too much chances. It wasn’t good enough and the result of 10: 0 is bad in hockey. We have to learn from it and move on, » said Vilmos Gallo after the match.
At the World Championships, Andres Ambühl and coach Patrick Fisher could let up up to three important players led by Sven Andrighett, who scored six goals in the tournament.
Interestingly, goalkeeper Leonardo Genoni scored probably the simplest Shootout in his career as he faced only six shots.
After the match, Ambühl admitted that Timo Meier told him on the day of the match that he was going to shoot a hetrik. It has finally worked out for a 41-year-old veteran.
From the perspective of SRF Sport there was only one mistake in the match – 2,846 spectators in the arena. « An undignified backdrop for a memorial match, » said journalist Marco Löffel.
