BEIJING (Reuters) – Teenager Juraj Slafkovsky helped Slovakia to their first win of the lads’s ice hockey event on the Beijing Olympics on Sunday with a 5-2 victory over Latvia.
The 17-year-old, broadly anticipated to be one of many high picks on this 12 months’s National Hockey League (NHL) draft, scored his fourth purpose of the event, accounting for half of Slovakia’s complete by means of the first three video games.
“Before the event if somebody would inform (me) I might rating even one or two targets I might chuckle however it’s really taking place,” mentioned Slafkovsky, who’s now the event’s main scorer.
“My line mates are enjoying rather well and perhaps they do not have the factors however these little issues on the ice they’re doing are nice.
“For instance right now once I scored they had been each fore-checking and I simply acquired the puck and I shoot.”
The groups traded targets in a decent first interval earlier than ahead Peter Cehlarik whipped the puck into the web to put Slovakia forward within the second and Slafkovsky added to their benefit.
Latvia ahead Miks Indrasis tipped the puck in early within the third interval to scale back the deficit however Slovakia then scored twice extra, together with one into an empty web within the closing second.
“I attempt to persuade them that we will beat anyone,” mentioned head coach Craig Ramsay. “I consider we will beat anyone if we simply play our sport and play like a staff. The most vital half is just not particular person hockey however staff play.”
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in Beijing, further reporting by Steve Keating; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
