This past match week Újpest proved that the international break came at the right time as they were able to get some strength back into their legs. They had two come from behind wins against teams that were directly behind them in the standings. Pance played a significant part in both games and because of this he is this week’s Player of the Week.
Eric Pance comes from Slovenia and joined Újpest after the start of the season once it was known that Teemu Elomo would be out with a knee injury. He came up through the Olimpija Ljubljana youth system and sent one season of junior hockey playing in Malmo, Sweden. He was teammates with his current UTE goalie Aleš Sila former Fehérvár player Harlan Pratt and Hungarian national team player Frank Banham and NHL goalie Norm Maracle in Ljubljana. Pance represented Slovenia at the U18 and U20 world championships and was part of the 2012 Slovenia team that beat Hungary at the World Championships.
What is your opinion about the MOL League?
I think you can see a lot of good hockey in MOL league. There is a big number of good imports and Hungarian players as well. I also think that marketing of the league is on high level.
You missed almost two seasons of hockey, how does it feel to finally be back and playing at 100%?
It was really hard for me for the past two years, I still feel that I did the right thing when I quit playing. I just needed to get away from hockey. The most important thing is that I’m really happy to be back on the ice and that I finally enjoy playing again which I didn’t in the past few years.
When did you choose to sign with Újpest?
It was in the end of the September when I got a call from Újpest and they asked me if I was interested to come for a tryout. I was really happy and came to Budapest right away, the tryout worked fine for me and the team, after one month I signed a contract. At this moment I would also like to thank Újpest for giving me a chance.
What is it like to have a fellow Slovenian, Aleš Sila, also in the locker room?
I am really happy to have Aleš around, he is a good buddy of mine since we were kids. He has helped me alot especially at the beginning when I came to Budapest. He was actually the person who helped me to come in Ujpest and I’m very thankful to him for that.
How would you compare Slovenian hockey to Hungarian hockey?
If we look at the quality of the leagues, the Hungarian is definitely better. In Slovenia we have just one professional team and this is Olimpija but for the last few years they have struggled tremendously. My opinion is that the development program in Hungarian hockey is pretty good. You can see that Hungarian hockey is getting better every year. I can just wish that one day we will have a league like MOL League in Slovenia where all the young players improve their talent and become better hockey players.