The national team will welcome the Slovenes behind closed doors on May 3 and in front of spectators on May 4 at the MVM Dome. The announcement by the Hungarian Confederation (MJSZ) on Monday confirmed that the former will be the first ice event at the multifunctional facility delivered in 2021, and is still considered a test event, so spectators cannot attend. But the next day, the first public hockey match will take place in “one of the largest indoor gymnasiums in Europe”.
The Hungarian national team will play a total of 11 preparatory matches before the World Cup: on April 5 and 6 they will play with Ukraine in Miskolc, on April 14 and 15 against Japan, then they will play against the Poles in Sosnowiec on April 20 and 21, and then with the British on the 25 and 21. 26. Followed by two matches against Slovenia, and then, on May 9, the match against Canada, also at the MVM Dome.
The latter will be the last stage of preparations before the World Cups in Tampere and Riga starting May 12, so – according to the announcement – the North American team will reach the best available team as well as the NHL playoffs.
After several months of work, we were able to get this long awaited fixture under the roof. The world’s ice hockey stars haven’t visited Hungary in recent years, so we can open the MVM Dome in a really dignified way at an ice event as well.
Levente Sipos, General Secretary of MJSZ, pointed this out.
The Hungarian national team has met Canada 12 times so far, and the North American national team has won 10 times in addition to two draws. The goal difference from Hungary’s point of view is 10-69. Last time, in November 2016, the Maple Leafs visited the Hungarian capital with their hockey team playing in Europe and won 5-1 in Tüskecsarnok.
Ticket sales started on Monday (today) at noon on the Eventim website. More information about the event will be available on hokitavasz.hu.
The Hungarian national team will start the World Cup on May 13 against the best team in Denmark, then they will face the United States, France, Sweden, hosts Finland and Germany, and finally – depending on the balance of power, in the most important clash for survival in – Austria. The top four of the two groups will advance to the quarter-finals on May 25, the semi-final matches will be played on the 27th, and the final and bronze medal matches will be played on the 28th.
(MTI)
