2003 IIHF World Junior Championship

Slovakia Shuts Out Switzerland 3-0 To Advance

Switzerland’s hopes for a medal have been shattered by team Slovakia in Monday night’s contest in Sydney which ended in a 3 – 0 victory for Slovakia. Igor Pohanka led the offence with two goals while goaltender Peter Sevela supplied the defense, turning away all 34 shots thrown his way.

After a slow first period, Slovakia was up 1 – 0 on a goal by Juraj Sykora. He scored 2:43 into the opening period on a weak shot from the point that goaltender Tobias Stephan deflected of his blocker, over his head, and into the net.

Igor Pohanka scored two goals in the second period, one coming with only 18 seconds remaining. Pohanka was in the right place at the right time for the first goal when Karol Sloboda swung the puck out from behind the net onto Pohnka’s stick and he slapped it through Stephan’s legs. The second goal came on a 2-on-1 rush with the pass coming from Ratislav Lipka.

Slovakia held the fort in a scoreless third period en route to the victory. “I would like to congratulate the Slovakian team who played a very good game tonight,” said Swiss head coach Jakob Kolliker afterward.

Switzerland, who is no longer in medal contention, plays Russia on Tuesday night while Slovakia takes on the U.S. for the second place spot in pool A.

Milan Jurcina of Slovakia will not play for the remainder of the tournament because a charley horse injury he suffered in Slovakia’s exhibition game against Canada.

Ryan Joe MacKenzie
Game Night Reporter

Box Score		SUI	0	0	0	0	0
Compte		SVK	1	2	0	3	0

Scoring/Buts : 02.43 0 - 1 EQ SVK 10. SYKORA, Juraj Penalties/Pénalités : 18.33 2 min SUI T. Team SUI TOO-M 15.26 2 min SUI 3. DALLENBACH, Juerg HOLD 08.46 2 min SVK T. Team SVK TOO-M 06.38 2 min SVK 7. STEHLIK, Richard ELBOW

Scoring/Buts : 39.42 0 - 3 EQ SVK 23. POHANKA, Igor (24. LIPKA, Ratislav 22. SLOBODA, Karol) 21.25 0 - 2 EQ SVK 23. POHANKA, Igor (24. LIPKA, Ratislav 7. STEHLIK, Richard) Penalties/Pénalités : 36.56 2 min SVK 8. GRANAK, Dominik INTRF 32.05 2 min SUI 7. FURRER, Philippe INTRF 28.10 2 min SVK 19. SALIJI, Samir TRIP 24.36 2 min SUI 17. PETER, Emanuel HOLD

Scoring/Buts : None/Aucun Penalties/Pénalités : 57.34 2 min SUI 17. PETER, Emanuel BOARD 54.33 2 min SUI 17. PETER, Emanuel ROUGH 54.33 2 min SVK 16. ZAGORA, Anton ROUGH 46.33 2 min SUI 3. DALLENBACH, Juerg INTRF 43.15 2 min SVK 19. SALIJI, Samir HOOK

Players of the Game	SUI	Unavailable
Joueurs du partie	SVK	Unavailable
Goaltenders	SUI	STEPHAN, Tobias
Gardiens de but	SVK	SEVELA, Peter
Shots on Goal by	Shots on Goal by	1st/1re	2nd/2e	3rd/3e	Final
Shots on Goal by	SUI	8	12	0	20
Tirs au but par	SVK	8	9	0	17
Officials	Referee/Arbitre	FAVORIN, Timo
Officiels	Linesmen/Juges des lignes	CORMIER, Michel DOUCETTE, Derek
Attendance/Assistance	2,069

Switzerland-Slovakia Preview

Both Switzerland and Slovakia will be looking for a much-needed win tonight when they face each other at Sydney’s Centre 200 at 6pm. The teams sport identical 1-1 records heading into the game and are tied for second place with the U.S. in Group A prior to the U.S. game versus Belarus this afternoon.

The Swiss opened the tournament with a 4-2 win over Belarus on Thursday but then fell to the U.S. 3-1 on Saturday. In a surprise move by Swiss coach Jakob Kolliker, goaltender Tobias Stephan did not get the start against the U.S. on Saturday. Kolliker instead went with Daniel Manzato. Stephan, drafted in the second round, 34th overall, by the Dallas Stars, was Switzerland’s go-to guy when it finished fourth in the tournament last year.

Slovakia lost to the undefeated Russians 4-0 in action last night. They trounced Belarus in their opener 11-1 and had goals from nine different players. In the game against the Russians, though, the Slovaks could not seem to get much offence going for most of the game and managed to direct only 16 shots at Russian netminder Andrei Medvedev.

Two players the Slovaks must be aware of are linemates Andreas Ambuhl and Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Patrik Bartschi. Ambuhl has three assists in his team’s first two games while Bartschi has two goals for La Suisse.

At 174cm and 75kg, Slovakian Ratislav Spirko is leading his team in scoring with one goal and three assists. Three other Slovakian players--Karol Sloboda of the Ottawa 67’s, Michal Vazan of MHC Martin in the Slovakia elite league, and Ivan Kolozvary a Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick who plays with Dukia Trencin also in the Slovakia league--all had three points in their opening game against Belarus.

Both teams should be well rested for this evening’s contest as both had Sunday off. It should be a particularly intense game as both are trying to finish in the top three in Group A in order to make it to the crossover round. Slovakia will then meet the U.S. on Tuesday in its last preliminary round game, and the Swiss will take on Russia in the last game to take place in Sydney on Tuesday night before all teams move to Halifax for the elimination round.

John Mayich
Sydney Co-ordinator

Slovaks Advance with 3-0 Win Over Switzerland

Slovakia has defeated Switzerland to ensure a place in the playoff round for the young country. Switzerland will play Russia in their next game. The Slovaks got a first-period goal from Juraj Sykora, and got two goals in the second. Peter Sevela got the shutout for the Slovaks.

Slovakia Leads Switzerland 1-0 After One

Juraj Sykora gave the Slovaks a 1-0 after one period of play in a crucial game for both teams. Demotion to the relegation round is almost a certainty for the team that doesn't win tonight. Tobias Stephann started in goal for La Suisse and Peter Sevela for the Slovaks. Each team incurred two minor penalties and shots were even at 8-8.