Fehérvár AV19 took on MAC Budapest in the best of three series for the Hungarian U20 title.
Fehérvár AV19-MAC Budapest 3-4 (shootout)
In game one both teams had their respective U20 national team goalie starting in net, Gergely Arany for MAC and Dániel Kornakker for Fehérvár. The home team took a 1-0 lead with a power play goal from Dániel Mazzag but MAC tied it up on a Gergő Fekete goal. In the second period Krisztián Szabó and Tamás Sárpátki made it 3-1 for Fehérvár as the teams headed into the last twenty minutes. Bence Bödök was able to get one back but MAC was chasing that third goal for the rest of the period. In the final minute of play coach Bob Dever pulled Arany for the extra attacker and it paid off as MAC was already on the power play, Dávid Jászi put the puck past Kornakker to send the game into overtime. With the game still tied at 3-3 the game was settled in a shootout when Patrik Kiss scored the winning shot.
Bob Dever- “We didn't start out well but got better as the game went on being down 3-1 going into the third I told the guys we gotta play harder and tougher, in the end we won and thats what matters.”
Bence Stipsicz-”It was good game, we were able to pull together, we started out flat but late in the game we were able to play our style and keep up the tempo in the third period, this gave of the chance to tie it up and win”
Tyler Dietrich-”We played a good game for the most part but we were not able to play well for 60 minutes, because of this they were able to come back, they are a good team. In shootout anything can happen it's like flipping a coin and they came out better this time around”
Ferenc Kocsis-”I think we played well, we tried to play our game like we have all season, and will for the next game”
MAC Budapest-Fehérvár AV19 3-4 (shootout)
The second game was almost a carbon copy of the first, Fehérvár had a multiple goal lead and in the third period MAC came back and the game was decided in a shootout. After a scoreless first period Szabó and Benjámin Nemes made it 2-0, Csanád Erdély made it 3-0 with a powerplay goal in the first minute of the third period. The tide started to turn five minutes into the third period Kovács scored a power play goal to make it 3-1, just over a minute later Nagy, who scored the game winner on Friday cut it to a one goal game with powerplay goal as well. With ten minutes to go in the game Philipp Felföldy completed the comeback. After a scoreless overtime the game was decided in a shoot out again, this time Fehérvár won when Nemes was the only shooter to score.
Bob Dever-”We didn't play well for the first 40 minutes, it's tough to beat the best team when you only play 20 minutes of hockey. To be the champs you have to beat the champs and we had a chance to do that today but we didn’t play a full game, the shootout is always a flip of a coin.”
Attila Kovács-”It was a tough game, it is always hard to close out a series, we came out flat but we managed to come back into the game, but a shootout is like flipping a coin.”
Tyler Dietrich-”This game was very similar to Fridays game in that we played great for two periods and we let them get back into the game. I looked up and they tied it up in five minutes, I don’t want to say they were all lucky goals but they were ones that can happen to any team, this time we came out on top on the shootout”
Csanád Erdély-”The first period was ours, we out skated them and out scored them, our power play worked and our coach told us to play like we did all season and now have to get ready for game three”
Fehérvár AV19-MAC Budapest 4-2
After two overtime thrillers, game three was bound to be a good game was well. Game three started just like the first two as Fehérvár took the first lead of the game as Szabó scored in the opening minutes. In the second period Bödök tied the game up 1-1 on a powerplay goal, the game remained tied until the early part of the third period when Péter Vincze, who missed the first two games because of an injury found the back of the back of the net to put the home team up by one. Dániel Szabó made it 3-1 just over a minute later Krisztián Szabó scored his second of the night, which was all that Fehérvár would need. In the closing minutes Ákos Inglis scored a second MAC goal but time had run out for the Budapest squad as Fehérvár was able to add a Hungarian title to next to the Austrian one had won earlier in the season.
Bob Dever-”They had the better team in the third period, with 20 minutes left we had a chance to win, it came down to the last period of the final game. I’m proud of the guys we fought hard all season not only in the Hungarian season and as the Austrian one as well.”
Gergely Arany-"After a slow start we were able to pick up the pace of the game and we were able to tie the game up. In the third period Volán was the stronger team and they were able to take the lead and win the game. Overall I think we can be proud of ourselves we played the season without any overage players or anyone that was playing down. I would like to congratulate Fehérvár, they played great all season.”
Tyler Dietrich-”It was a good game, our best of the series for sure. We came out flying and really pressed hard in the first period. The second period we strayed from our game plan a bit, and MAC picked it up a lot, so we found ourselves in a 1-1 game going into the third. The guys really found an extra gear in the final 20 and we found the back of the net a few times. Great game and a really tight series.”
Márk Szaller-”We started great and had the lead by the third minute, in the second period we slacked off a bit and let them get back into the game on a powerplay. We put everything in for the last twenty minutes and we played very disciplined and because of this we were able to win the game. It was great to close out the season with a gold, I would like to congratulate MAC on playing a great game as well.”