Martin’s second step

Slovaks beat Bolzano in Continental Cup

17.01.2009
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Adam Drgon celebrates his goal in the 7-3 of MHC Martin against the Bolzano Foxes. Photo: Stéphanie Ouvry

ROUEN, France – Slovakia’s MHC Martin is the only debutant in the Continental Cup Super Final, but after a 7-3 against the Bolzano Foxes, they took a big step towards the tournament title.

The speedy Slovaks began the game with an early goal at 4:20. Michal Beran skated around the Bolzano defence before he put the puck past goalkeeper Pasi Häkkinen. David Appel made a kick pass to Lukas Haval, who let defenceman Peter Klepac score the 2-0 at 11:18.

The first period ended with a 2-1 lead for the Slovaks. Martin's goalie Michal Dzubina, who got his first start in the tournament, seemed to have the puck under control at 16:16 during an Italian five-on-three power play but the puck was loose between his pads and the post, and Ryan Jardine cut the deficit to one goal.

Martin went into the second period with a two-man advantage and Lukas Havel scored on the power play, but the Italian team was a challenging opponent. A delay-of-game penalty brought Bolzano back to within one eight minutes later. The Foxes cut Martin’s lead again with Kenny Corupe’s power play goal.

Defenseman Adam Drgon scored another power-play goal to make it 4-2 for Martin. On the next Bolzano power play, Dzubina deflected a shot by Luca Ansoldi but Latvian defender Sergejs Durdins took the rebound and scored from an acute angle.

The game continued to be a ping pong of power-play goals in the second period. Center Lukas Riha outplayed the Italian defence with a smart pass to the other side of the net where Klepac had just to shove the puck into the empty net.

Beran’s shorthanded goal at 42:20 deflated the Italians. The game was interrupted for several minutes after fans used flares in the arena after the goal at 56:43 and the spectators voiced their anger by loudly supporting MHC Martin for the remaining minutes. The Slovaks demonstrated their superiority by scoring the 7-3 goal by Martin Cech at 58:48.

Thanks to its second win, MHC Martin has a good chance to win the Continental Cup on Sunday when they play the host team, the Rouen Dragons.

Click here for the game’s photo gallery.

Click here for scores and stats.

MARTIN MERK
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