Index – Sports – World Cup gold medal-winning hockey players were worthy competitors for Canada, which included international stars

An hour before the game, a large number of spectators gathered around Nepliget, most of them wearing Hungarian national team jerseys, but there were also those who had Chicago Blackhawks jerseys – they certainly bought tickets because of Connor Bedard, they wanted to see him become the next big star in the NHL.

Before the start, spectators gave a standing ovation to members of the Hungarian women's ice hockey team, which defeated France in the final round of the I/A World Championship in Klagenfurt at the beginning of April, thus returning to the elite.

The series of greetings did not end here, as Hungarian fans also bid farewell to Daniel Koger, Balint Magosi, Girjo Nagy, Tamás Bozszjai and Bence Scherani, who will no longer feature in the national team – for those who may not know, it would have been unthinkable to imagine the Hungarian national team without them in past over two decades. Together they have appeared for the national team 681 times.

Before the puck dropped, we noticed something interesting: fans were being taken around the ice on top of one of the Rolba ice maintenance machines, something we had never seen before.

After the legends came to life, the Hungarian ice dancers dazzled the spectators, and then the players were introduced. Of course the Hungarians received more applause, but the spectators also gave Bedard a standing ovation in Budapest.

The North American national team has visited Hungary six times in the past 20 years, and they have almost always succeeded in proving the paper form.

Our men's hockey players returned home from Italy in high spirits: our A team From hell a They made it to Paradise in just a few days in the Division I World Series, which ended Saturday. After the embarrassing defeat suffered by Romania, Istvan Sofron considered the host Italian team to be the strongest team among the six teams. Slovenia was also defeatedThey thus reached the world elite for the fourth time in modern Hungarian hockey history.

The first third

Colton Parayko scored a big goal in the first minute, indicating that the Maple Leafs team, after beating Austria, wants to achieve victory in Budapest as well. The Hungarians then had the first chance, but Balázs Sebok's shot wasted. Canada, on the other hand, seized its first opportunity, Parayko Shoot in the upper left corner with a nice move (0-1).

I was pleased that the goal did not snatch the Hungarian players, they advanced with honor and tried to reduce the knowledge gap with great enthusiasm. Balázs Sebők was on the spot for the second time, putting a beautiful shot up the middle, but the effort was blocked by Stanley Cup winner Jordan Binnington.

During the first short break, we looked around and noticed that the MVM Dome was almost completely full, and we only saw empty chairs at the top of the upper suite.

Midway through the third period, Nelson Hernick was ejected by the officials for a foul (he fouled Jack McBain), so the Canadian first man advantage came out. We evaded the goal for the next two minutes without scoring, and Bence Bales, defending in a World Cup-inspired style, blocked every Canadian shot.

However, the inadequate man-defending took too much from the team, and after several minutes, the mostly red-shirted players only had the strength to clear the ball out of their own third until they could substitute it.

Three and a half minutes before the end of the third period, Hungarian hockey players were able to break into the Canadian third, and in light of the confusion in front of the goal there was hope of scoring a goal, but the puck got stuck in Binnington. The biggest winner needed no more, and the cheering in the stands instantly became louder. The St. Louis goalie had a lot to do, which was nice to see.

After the bagpipes came the announced heavy rain. Fans threw teddy bears onto the ice for charity, and the collected figurines are being delivered by the Heart Champion Foundation to children's hospitals “Be a champion of the heart too.” As part of his election campaign.

Second trimester

The Canadians had more of the ball in the middle half as well, which of course was no surprise, as Hungary's best hockey players met the defending World Cup champions. The Hungarian team tried to quickly approach the opponent's goal using the acquired ball, Vilmos Gallo made a run on the left wing, and after completing it, Tamas Szarbatky shot into the goal.

The missed opportunity was immediately punished by the opponent, after Bedard's shot was blocked by a Buffalo Sabres defender. Bowen Biram Score a goal from close range0 to 2).

A few minutes later, Christophe Papp, who scored the winning goal against the Slovenians, jumped in, but could not beat Binnington's mind. Midway through the third period, Don McAdam took Bales off the ice, and Dominik Horvath took his place – I'm sure this exchange was discussed with the players beforehand.

The 23-year-old goalkeeper saved Dylan Gunther's shot with a brilliant work as an introduction. Then, thinking we could celebrate a goal, the Hungarian attackers broke the net three to one, but one of the Canadians blocked the puck, much to the dismay of the Budapest fans.

The visitors increased their tempo a little after the Hungarian goal, but Horvath handled the situation excellently, coming on as a substitute. Several balls sneaked in, but the defenders blocked them skillfully. On the other hand, Gallo moved forward this time from the right side, but his shot was not strong.

Another Canadian goal came in response, as Andrew Mangiapane, hovering on the left flank, fired a shot wide from an agonizingly empty goal. Owen PowerWho sent the puck into the Hungarian goal between Horvath's legs (0-3).

Third third

The shot of the Hungarian national team captain, Erdéli Chanad, opened the final third, then Horvath's display continued, and the Hungarian goalkeeper who replaced Bales made several saves, and it was because of them that the scissors did not open further between the two teams.

However, Binnington also had work to do, as István Terboks, featured on the fourth line, made a bright start, but was unable to put the ball home, and Hungary were close to scoring. A few minutes before the end, the announcer announced that 14,925 people had attended the match, a new peak in the history of Hungarian ice hockey.

With 2:19 left, Horvath was also on the bench, with Roland Farkas taking his place in the Hungarian goal. In the end, the Canadiens got another man advantage, as Babb sat on the bench. Unfortunately, we didn't get to the end with three goals, Gunther Big shot from the receiving end (0 to 4).

And that was the end, as the Hungarian fans greeted the Hungarian players by chanting, “It was great, boys,” which… In addition to today's match She also pointed to the gold medal achieved at the Division I World Championship.

Hockey

Preparatory match

• Hungary-Canada 0-4 (0-1, 0-2, 0-1)

Scorers: Parayko (3rd), Byram (27), Bauer (40), Gunter (60)

(Cover image: Zsófi Szollár / Index)

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