Machine-translated from Hungarian.
On Wednesday evening, our team made its home debut in the EUHL; up until then, we had only played away matches in the international university league. Our first win was still a long time coming, so we were determined and hungry for success as we prepared to face HC UNIZA from Žilina.
The first period was a very evenly matched affair, with both teams having the same number of shots on goal by the end of the period (7–7). Both teams defended effectively, but there were dangerous moments at both ends. Fortunately, a Győr goal managed to ‘break the deadlock’; following a hard-fought battle for the puck, Bendegúz Jábor found the net midway through the period. A few minutes later, Benedek Madácsi received a superb pass a good 10 metres from the goal, which he fired into the visitors’ empty net. The lads thus went into the break with a two-goal lead.
We came out more confidently for the second period; it was clear throughout that UNI GYŐR ETO HC would dominate today’s match. Even so, we had to wait nearly 10 minutes for the first goal, which Bence Makovics managed to score following a well-executed counter-attack. The final three minutes of the period saw a flurry of goals: first, Madácsi who cleverly pounced on a loose puck, then, a minute and a half before the buzzer, the visitors also scored a consolation goal, with Kosut capitalising on a defensive error to find the net. It wasn’t over yet: just one minute after the face-off, Jábor also scored his second goal, meaning we went into the final break with a four-goal lead.
In the third period, the home crowd didn’t have to wait until halfway through for some fine goals; just one and a half minutes after the restart, Norbert Lévai received a fine pass, which he finished off superbly. Two minutes later, we managed to break away well whilst a man down, and Dominik Sipák scored Győr’s seventh goal, sealing the final result.
After the previous day’s – for us, not particularly successful – – it was good to see that the lads were able to face an unfamiliar opponent with renewed vigour and confidence, and secure their first victory in the international university league in front of a home crowd.
On Saturday, Dél-Budai HC await the lads in the Andersen League, and on Monday, Gladiators Trencin will be coming to the Győr Ice Sports Centre for an EUHL match!
Come on, UNI GYŐR ETO!
UNI GYŐR ETO HC vs HC UNIZA ZILINA: 7 – 1 (EUHL) Goalscorers: **#17 Bendegúz Jábor (2), #18 Benedek Madácsi (2), #8 Bence Makovics, #15 Norbert Lévai, #7 Martin Sipák (UNI GYŐR ETO) #22 Tomas Kosut (Uniza)
We’ve put together a selection of the best photos from the match in our gallery:
Photo: Dr Krisztina Németh-Csigai
Fotó: Dr. Németh-Csigai Krisztina