Slovakia concedes another surprise loss

In quest for much needed points to ensure survival in the elite division or quarterfinal spot, Slovakia did not start the game well and was unable to create any chances. That changed after nine minutes, though, as Tomas Surovy fired home a quick rebound from Sersen´s previous effort.

But Slovakia did not find a way to increase their lead. Austrian defense worked well, supported by a faultless performance of Bernhard Starkbaum between the pipes. Their resilience eventually paid off midway through the game when Oberkofler´s line created chaos in front of Slovak net and Gerhard Unterluggauer fired a slap shot right into the open net.

Another defenseman Andrej Sekera could respond after few minutes, but his wristshot from the slot was too high. As clock ticked in the third period, both teams focused mostly on defense and chances were rare to see. Slovak captain Miroslav Satan conceded a penalty just few seconds before the end of the third period, but Austria failed to get anything out of it and the game headed for shootout.

All three Slovak shooters were unable to beat the impressive Starkbaum and so it took the only succesful shot by Thomas Vanek to decide the winner. Austria is currently on five points while Slovakia has seven.

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