One win, two defeats at Auschwitz – we took part in an international tournament
Machine-translated from Hungarian.
Our team finished the Malopolska Winter Cup (1–10 August) in Auschwitz with one win and two defeats. During the three-day tournament, we took to the ice against an international field, where different playing cultures, tempos and styles came together, whilst the programme also featured several close, high-intensity matches.
The tournament formed part of the EUHL’s 2025/26 season, which is being contested this season under a regional system, featuring qualifying tournaments followed by the play-offs. For the Széchenyi University team, international competition remains one of the programme’s key pillars, where the dual career path of higher education and competitive sport converges.
The field for the Malopolska Winter Cup comprised the hosts Sabers Oświęcim, DEAC and the American ACHA Division II selection. The latter took part in the tournament as a guest team; they do not feature in the league system, yet their performance clearly stood out from the rest of the field.
In the opening match, we took to the ice against the ACHA Division II national team. The American side played a fast and physical game, which demanded our full concentration right from the very first minute. We were a goal down after the first period, and then, at the start of the second, our opponents ruthlessly capitalised on a brief lapse in concentration, scoring three times in just over a minute. However, the team fought back: goals from Bence Dézsi and Márton Molnár saw us claw our way back into the game, but in the third period it was only the Americans who found the net. The match ended in a 7–2 defeat.
On the second day of the tournament, the team faced the hosts, Sabers Oświęcim, and managed to secure a valuable away victory. The Polish side took the lead, but following a quick response from Bence Décsi and a long-range goal from Miklós Wenner, Győr went into the first period with the lead. We remained in control of the match throughout; although the home side responded to Benedek Horváth’s goal whilst on the power play, the third period was characterised by disciplined defending and an outstanding goalkeeping performance from our team. In the closing stages, Dominik Sipák sealed the 4–2 final score, whilst our goalkeeper, Máté Sági, was named man of the match.
We took to the ice against DEAC in the cup final. In the first period, the Debrecen side built up a three-goal lead, but in the second period Bence Dézsi managed to break the deadlock with a goal. The third period was a real rollercoaster ride: Goals from Sebestyén Csata and, once again, Bence Dézsi saw us close the gap to a single goal on several occasions, and in the closing stages, with the goalkeeper pulled, Ádám Vízi reduced the deficit to one goal. However, we were unable to equalise, and so the match ended in a 5–4 victory for DEAC.
The international programme continues on home soil in early February, when between 5 and 7 February our team will host the now traditional University of Győr Hockey Cup. At the Győr University Ice Sports Centre, alongside UNI GYŐR ETO HC, the Polish team Sabers Oświęcim, Opole United (also from Poland) and the Transylvanian side Sapientia, meaning further international matches await both our team and the home crowd.
However, the international programme is far from over: during the regular season, the team also has a Transylvanian Cup to look forward to, which will be another important milestone in the season. At the end of the season, the Sekeras Cup will decide the fate of the championship, where the best teams in the EUHL will go head-to-head, and where the final standings for the 2025/26 season will be confirmed.