The Sabers struck back.

Last night, our team played its first match at the UNIVERSITY OF GYŐR HOCKEY CUP, which is now being held for the third time at the Győr Ice Sports Centre. Our opening opponents were Sabers Oswiecim, whom we had already faced in November at the Malopolska Winter Cup, which they organised. There – to our surprise – we managed to secure a victory in a close match, and we were hoping to repeat that here.

From the very first minute of the match, it was clear that the Polish team had taken to the ice with the aim of getting their own back, and the crowd were treated to a fast-paced, hard-fought contest from start to finish. Both sides had chances in the first period, but we had to wait until the 16th minute for the first goal, when the Sabers (Baida) pounced ruthlessly on a puck that had taken an unfortunate bounce, allowing them to go into the break with a one-goal lead. 0–1

The second half didn’t get off to a great start for our team either; the Sabers quickly extended their lead to two, with Gurshman scoring from distance. 0–2

Ten minutes later, the visitors had another reason to celebrate, coming out on top of a massive scramble in front of goal with a goal from Hrebeniuk. 0–3

The lads, however, didn’t give up; they kept fighting and it paid off: Mátyás Odnoga received a lovely pass and, with ruthless composure, slotted the puck past the Polish goalkeeper and into the net! 1–3

Unfortunately, in the final minute, the visitors scored again with a long-range shot from Melnyk, so the deficit was back to three goals, and the final break followed. 1–4

The teams still had energy left for the final period; the intensity of the game remained unchanged, but the first goal of the period came from a Győr player: the Auschwitz goalkeeper came out for the puck at a very bad time in the 56th minute, and Benedek Madácsi isn’t one to let that go unpunished! 2–4

A few minutes later, however, the visitors capitalised on a turnover, with Mos carrying the puck unchallenged towards the goal. 2–5

In the final minute, we tried playing with an empty net, but the visitors managed to win the puck and score from the blue line, sealing the final score. 2–6

**The Polish team arrived in Győr with a very strong squad and set a fast pace throughout the match. The lads put up a good fight, but in this match the opposition were the ‘sharper’ side.

We’ve still got two matches left in the cup – we’ve got to give it our all to secure those 6 points!**

Come on, UNI GYŐR ETO!

UNI GYŐR ETO HC vs SABERS OSWIECIM: 2 – 6 (EUHL) Goalscorers: **#16 Mátyás Odnoga, #18 Benedek Madácsi (UNI GYŐR ETO) #17 Baida, #9 Gurshman, #14 Hrebeniuk, #98 Melnyk, #95 Mos, #44 Dudkiewicz (SABERS)

We’ve put together a selection of the best photos from the match in our gallery:

Photo: Dr Krisztina Németh-Csigai