Matches

27th June 2025 - Tereza Medková, photo: Vojtěch Zajíc

Drama till the end - Slovakia defeats USA 4–3 in OT

One of the day’s first games was opened in the fifth minute by Nicholas Bruno, who scored into an empty net after a precise pass. However, Slovakia quickly responded and tied the game. Suddenly, a different team appeared on the rink — within just 12 seconds, Slovakia turned the game around in their favor thanks to two quick goals from Oliver Vojčík and Šimon Lopušan. The USA managed to reduce the deficit to 3–2 before the end of the first period. The second period was evenly matched, with the play shifting from end to end and both teams creating scoring chances. The biggest opportunities came during power plays for both the Americans and Slovaks, but no further goals were scored and the teams went to the locker rooms with the score unchanged. The final period was mostly under the control of the Americans, who were trailing by just one goal. A power play and then pulling the goalie worked in their favor — Michael Henry tied the game at 3–3 and sent it into overtime. But it was the Slovaks who got the better of the extra time, and thanks to Oliver Stümpel, they clinched the win with a final score of 4–3 in overtime.
Penalties
6:5
PPG
1:2
SHG
0:0
Shots on goal
34:27

Goals and assists

8. Lopušan (Šatka), 11. Vojčík (Benko, Zummer), 11. Lopušan (Šatka), 47. Stümpel (Benko, Lopušan) – 5. Bruno (Melillo), 14. Bruno (Phillips, Migliozzi), 45. Henry (Migale).

Referees

Josef Vrba, Jevhenij Danylec

Official game sheet

Slovakia U23

Borovský – Stümpel, Belák, Chmelko, Šechný, Šulík, Dubeň, Lopušan, Mikula – Marek, Wachal, Putala, Korbíni, Jankůj, Benko, Siakeľ, Balát, Zummer, Šatka, Amrich, Gugh, Badalov, Vojčík.

USA U23

Mangini – Albert, Malloy, Melillo, Wright, Migale, Rose, Steinberg – Henry, Drew, Migliozzi, Callahan, McCormick, Wilbur, Rudolph, Bruno, Rennebeck, Fetzer, Marchese, Phillips, Rhoades, Gallen.




Coaches´ Quotes

Milan Rampáček (SVK): "I think it's a deserved win, but the double-minor penalty was unfortuante. The USA didn’t score, but we also missed a lot of chances. We could have decided the game much earlier, but we'll take the two points. We're moving forward; the tournament is still wide open."

Nick Carter (USA): "In the third period we were mostly defending, scored a goal at the end and could have taken it in overtime. It was an important game for us, so we knew what we had to do at the end. Unfortunately, we made a bad decision in overtime and they took advantage of it."

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