With a 5-1 win over Italy, the Slovenian national team celebrated staying in the top division of the World Cup on Monday evening. Jan Drozg put his team on the road to victory with two goals in the middle period. In the interview, the Olimpija Ljubljana player talks about the World Cup.
Slovenia showed off several times at the World Championships in Fribourg, Switzerland. Head coach Edo Terglav’s team celebrated an overtime win against the Czech Republic at the start and narrowly missed out on their next success against Slovakia – the Slovenians had to admit defeat in the shootout in this game. Despite the good performances, the last game against Italy decided whether they would stay in the league. The Italians even took a 1-0 lead in the middle section, but in the end Slovenia celebrated a clear 5-1 triumph. “The key was to act as a team, go into the game with a positive attitude and bring good energy to the ice. After conceding a goal, we had to show the right reaction – and that’s exactly what we did. We believed in ourselves and delivered in the end,” reports Jan Drozg, who scored two power play goals – including the game winner.
A total of 16 players from the win2day ICE Hockey League were in the Slovenian squad for the World Cup. Some familiar faces met in the duel with Italy, who had twelve league players in their squad. “Italy has a strong team, it was an intense game. When you know a lot of players, you get a better feel for their game, which makes it easier to adapt to them,” said Drozg.
Last season, the winger recorded 27 points in 31 ICE games for Olimpija Ljubljana. At the World Cup there were five points from seven games – the conclusion is generally positive. “We had some very good games, especially against the Czech Republic and in the last duel with Italy. But the other games were also absolutely solid. We made history for Slovenia – that makes me very proud.”
Italy, however, is the only nation to be relegated from the win2day ICE Hockey League. Hungary managed to stay in Group A in Zurich with a clear 5-0 win over Great Britain.
eishockey.at , Image: Filip Barbalic
