Ice hockey-Slafkovsky eager for Santagiulia return despite home-game feel for Slovakia at smaller venue
MILAN, Feb 13 : Slovakia enjoyed a home atmosphere in their win over hosts Italy at Milano Rho Arena in the men's Olympic ice hockey tournament on Friday, but their star player Juraj Slafkovsky is glad they will be back at Santagiulia for their final group game.
Slovakian supporters were out in force when their side beat defending Olympic champions Finland at the all-new and significantly larger Santagiulia Arena in their opening game on Wednesday, and they vastly outnumbered Italian fans when they defeated the hosts 3-2 in Friday's entertaining battle.
Slovakia President Peter Pellegrini was among the crowd at the 5,800-capacity venue, and the stands were filled with Slovakian jerseys and flags.
Chants of 'este jeden' which means 'one more' could also be heard ringing out after Slovakia went 2-0 up and Slafkovsky, top scorer at the Olympics four years ago at age 17, was asked if it felt like a home game for his team.
"Yeah, for sure, I thought they were going to have more fans," Slafkovsky said. "But it looks like we had more, so I love that."
The much-maligned Santagiulia Arena has proved to be a success after all the worries over construction delays and the ice, and Slafkovsky said he prefers the larger 14,700-capacity arena.
"I like the big rink more, so I can't wait to play there tomorrow," he said.
"I'm used to playing in a pretty big rink," said Slafkovsky, who plays for the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. "So yeah, I like the big rinks, you know, it gets you going more, you have more fans there, so yeah, I can't wait."
Slovakia return to Santagiulia on Saturday for their final group game against Sweden. A win would secure top spot, which means advancing to the last eight without the need for a playoff.
Adam Ruzicka has scored in both games for Slovakia and after the battle with Italy, is focused on the bigger challenge ahead.
"We knew what to expect, that they're going to play hard and they're going to be physical," Ruzicka said of Italy.
"They want to get under our skin. At the end of the day, we won the game, and now we got to just forget about the game and focus on tomorrow.
"It's the biggest game out of the three that we have."
