Hungary beat Japan in a game that could have goen easier but maybe it was the wakeup that the team need.
Head coach Rich Chernomaz went with Miklós Rajna in net with Japanese coach Mark Mahon tabbing former Los Angeles King Yutaka Fukufuji as the goalie. Hungary had to play without prolific scoring forward István Sofron who is sitting out two games because of an IIHF suspension.
The game started off feeling like a home game as the Hungarian fans were making themselves heard. It didn't take long for the excitement to start as Japan was up 1-0 before the two minute mark. Daisuke Obara skated down the right wing, cut in and shot the puck on net that took a deflection off of a skate and ended up behind Rajan for the goal. Minutes later it looked like Hungary had tied it up as Frank Banham tied it up when he put a rebound into the net but it was disallowed after a video review because of a highstick call. Right before the ten minute mark Hungary tied it up with a Frank the Tank special as Banham fired a slapshot from high in the slot that Fukufuji had no chance of saving.
The energy that the two teams had in the second period had dissipated somewhat in the second period, Hungary had puck possession but were not really able to create any real chances. Right at the midway point of the game with a delayed penalty coming up Yushiro Hirano rifled a screen shot past Rajna to put Japan back up by one. On the ensuing shift Hungary forced a faceoff, János Hári won the faceoff Balázs Sebők tapped it on to Csanád Erdély who flipped it into the back of the Japanese net for his first national team goal. As the period went on Hungary started to look like the stronger game.
As the minutes slipped off the clock the game started to get more and more tense with the fans rooting even harder. Both teams were playing great as they created scoring chances. Kóger skated in on a breakaway but was called offsides. Late in the third period Hungary was awarded a power play and coach Chernomaz called time out. After winning the faceoff it was clear that the play was to set up Banham for a shot. The first time Banham sent the puck high but the second time the puck ended up in the back of the net. For good measure János Hári scored an empty netter to set the final at 4-2 to pick up the very important three goals.
Todays lineup:
Kóger Sarauer Banham
Hári Erdély Sebők
Kovács Vas J. Vincze
Benk Nagy Magosi
Orbán Vas M.
Szirányi Metcalfe
Kiss Gőz
Pözsgai
Coaches Corner
Rich Chernomaz-“I don't think we executed very well, we chased the puck too much. we got down in the game 2-1 but the guys found a way to fight back, Frank the tank found a way to put it in, we got some great play from the younger guys such as Erdély, Sebők and Hári.”
Mark Mahon-They were more opportunistic than us they were able to score, we took penalties at the end which really hurt us, everytime we scored they would score right away. It was a typical Japan-Hungary game that was tight from start to finish.”
View from the Ice
Csanád Erdély- “The first five minutes was crucial because they were pushing hard but we fought back and started to play better. I saw a loose puck from Sebők and I just fired it and luckily it went it in.”
Miklós Raja-”It took us time to get used to this ice surface, we got an unlucky goal in the early minutes of the game. It was very important for us to pick up the first win of the tournament.”
Frank Banham-”They got a lucky one early, the good thing is that we showed heart and determination to fight back into the game, its very important to get the first win of the tournament. During the timeout Rich had Marci and me switch sides and it worked as we scored that third goal.”
The Hungarian Squad
Goalies (2): BÁLIZS Bence (Miskolci Jegesmedvék) RAJNA Miklós (Fehérvár AV19)
Defensmen (7): KISS Dániel (Újpest) ORBÁN Attila, SZIRÁNYI Bence (Fehérvár AV19) POZSGAI Tamás (Dab.Docler), GŐZ Balázs, METCALFE Tyler (Miskolci Jegesmedvék), VAS Márton (Löwen Frankfurt, DEL2)
Forwards (13): BANHAM Frank, BENK András, EREDÉLY Csanád, KOVÁCS Csaba, KÓGER Dániel, MAGOSI Bálint, SARAUER Andrew, VINCZE Péter, (Fehérvár AV19) NAGY Krisztián (Miskolci Jegesmedvék) SEBŐK Balázs (Hokki, FIN2) SOFRON István (Krefeld Pinguine, GER), VAS János (Slavia Praha, CZE) HÁRI János (MODO, SWE)
Coaching Staff
Head Coach: Rich Chernomaz
Assistant Coaches: Gergely Majoross, Tamás Sille, Diego Scandella
Goalie Coach: Gary Clark
World Championships Schedule
Sunday April 19
Monday April 20
13:00 Kazakhstan-Hungary
16:30 Italy-Ukraine
20:00 Poland-Italy
Tuesday April 21-Off day
Wednesday April 22
13:00 Kazakhstan-Japan
16:30 Italy-Hungary
20:00 Poland-Ukraine
Thursday April 23
13:00 Japan-Italy
16:30 Ukraine-Hungary
20:00 Kazakhstan-Poland
Friday April 24-Off day
Saturday April 25
13:00 Japan-Ukraine
16:30 Italy-Kazakhstan
20:00 Hungary-Poland
Photo: László Mudra