Women’s Hockey World Championship 2022: What is the chance for Slovakia to advance? (mathematics)
MONTREAL. Slovak hockey players are a bit in the shadow of their male colleagues at the ongoing World Cup in Montreal.
Nevertheless, the Slovak representatives have a record record within reach, as they are the first to win five championship titles in a row. And they didn’t lose until the match with the Czech Republic on Friday.
However, even Slovaks do not play the second violin at the World Championships. After the last match in the group stage against Great Britain (Saturday, June 25 at 3:20 pm CET), he can win medals. Just like last time.
Matches are not broadcast on any television, because the organizers do not produce any signal. However, you can traditionally find text online transmission on Sportnet.sk.
They have the procedure in their hands
The Slovaks will play against Great Britain to advance to the semifinals, where four of the six teams in the group advance. Hopelessly the last are the players of Lebanon.
The second Black Peter will be won by Slovak (4th place, 5 points) or British hockey players (5th place, 3 points). In order for the British to eliminate the Slovaks, they must win over them.
Subsequently, the first team of the table will play six and the fourth, the second will play against the third. They will eventually lose their medals.
One of the players almost missed the World Cup
The Slovaks reached for medals for the last time in 2019 in Košice. There, however, they lost the bronze medal match with the Czechs (0: 5).
Their historical success remains the silver from 2007 and 2009, and at the end they also have bronze from 2015.
One of the players who remembers the match in Košice three years ago is the young Nina Štrbáková. The defender of the HBK team, Medokýš Martin, almost missed this year’s championship in Montreal, Canada.
Even before that, she represented Slovakia at the U18 Hockey World Championships (May 25 – June 15), which took place in the USA. The Slovaks reached the quarterfinals, where they were eliminated with Canada.
“It simply came to our notice then. The first is that I’m going straight from America to Canada. But it fell because I had to return to Slovakia with my grandmothers. So I had to deal with the second option. And here it got complicated, because the hockey players went to Montreal on June 15th. Exactly fifteen minutes after our arrival from the USA, “Štrbáková explained, quoting her hokejbal.sk.
“I confess, and I cried. I wanted to go to both World Cups without stress. I solved everything possible to catch both events, “described Štrbáková, who was finally saved by the men’s national team.
“I exchanged with one of the coaches of the men’s national team, Maj. Gregorík. He went with our grandmothers instead of me, and I flew instead with the men four days later. So thanks to the fact that both teams had different departure dates, I finally made it, “added the 18-year-old player.
In twenty-six days, she flew twenty thousand kilometers to play in two world victories. In Montreal, she had a difficult program – 7 matches in 7 days.
Her teammate set her a record
Of the four so far, two winners so far and two have lost. After the initial loss to the Czech Republic (1: 3) came important victories over the USA (4: 3 sn) and Lebanon (10: 1).
Despite Friday’s losing to Canada (2: 8), they are still close to advancing to the semis.
Only 14-year-old Nela Lopušanová had the left share of the victories in the paradoxical youngest player of the Slovak hockey team in history.
She thus lost a record to Štrbáková, who entered the World Championships in Košice at the age of 15 years and 75 days. She was the youngest player to ever wear a national dress.
“Records are for breaking. I am glad that someone will beat me at the next World Cup right away. Nela is very talented and I am looking forward to having players at the same young age who have the performance and talent to be in the national team, “she concluded in an interview with website of the Slovak Hockey Union Štrbáková.