Exceptional excitement and superb organisation at the Győr International University Ice Hockey Cup!
Machine-translated from Hungarian.
For the second time, Széchenyi University organised the UNIVERSITY OF GYŐR HOCKEY CUP, which has now become an integral part of the EUHL calendar; it is not just a four-team tournament, but the results of the matches also count towards the league standings. Once again this year, the EUHA – the league’s governing body – was represented at the highest level. Vice-President Frantisek Sadecky and Secretary-General Peter Spankovic were unfortunately unable to present the trophy for the tournament victory to the hosts, but they spoke highly of the team’s performance, as well as the organisation and running of the event. Both emphasised that it is important to the EUHL for Széchenyi University to remain part of this league in the long term, and for more Hungarian university teams to follow the example set by UNI GYŐR. Four teams, representing four nations, took part in the three-day competition:
- SAPIENTIA U23 – Karcfalva, Romania
- UHT SABERS – Auschwitz, Poland
- UNIVERSITY SPARTACUS – Košice, Slovakia
- UNI GYŐR ETO HC – Győr, Hungary
Six matches took place between 9 and 11 November, and there was certainly no shortage of excitement: after the first two days (four matches), all four teams were level on three points each, so the final day of the tournament decided the final standings. In the very last match (UNI GYŐR vs SPARTACUS), an interesting situation arose in which the match was a ‘do-or-die’ battle for both sides. Whichever team won would be crowned the overall cup champions, whilst the loser would finish in last place.
Of the 6 matches in the UNIVERSITY OF GYŐR HOCKEY CUP II, 3 involved Győr teams, and all three provided entertaining and spectacular matches for the spectators. It was great to see that, for three consecutive days, several hundred people turned up to cheer on the team at every Győr match – as Péter Boros, the university team’s sporting director, who is proud that, in addition to the teams’ performances on the pitch, the event – as one of the city’s international university events – was also a success. “Although Győr’s Bendegúz Jábor suffered a broken nose in the final match and, in an earlier match, a Košice player had to be examined in hospital on suspicion of concussion, apart from these incidents, the three days at the Győr Ice Sports Centre were filled with truly sportsmanlike yet fiercely competitive, high-quality ice hockey that remained open and fair right up to the very last moment.” Eszter Szombati-Serfőző, managing director of UNI PRO SPORT KFT, the university-run company that supports the UNI GYŐR ETO HC team, shares a similar vision for the future; she, too, has watched the team’s matches from start to finish, and finds some consolation in the fact that at least the tournament’s best player isUNI PRO SPORT KFT**, the university-run company that supports the UNI GYŐR ETO HC team, who herself watched the team’s matches from start to finish and found a silver lining in the fact that, at the end of the tournament, she was able to present the award for the tournament’s best player to the Győr team’s captain, Benedek Madácsi. He said: “Although we weren’t able to keep the cup at home as we did last year, the lads have no reason to be ashamed based on their performance on the ice. It was also good to receive praise from the EUHL leadership, who recognised the Széchenyi University team for their work both on and off the ice. We also discussed future opportunities with the officials and see a real possibility that athletes wishing to study at the University of Győr may even come from overseas in the future. This means that not only Hungarian athletes, but even a Canadian ice hockey player, could have the opportunity to pursue a top-level sporting career whilst obtaining a marketable university degree, without having to give up ice hockey in the process.”
The opening match was played between the teams from Sapientia University in Székely Land and Spartacus University in Košice. On paper (a prediction that was subsequently consistently overturned in almost every match of the cup), we might have witnessed a confident victory for the Székely side, but the Slovakian team always managed to regroup and get back into the match, and in the third period they even managed to turn the game around, springing an immediate surprise. Detailed match statistics are available HERE are available.