Slovakia earns wild OT win over Kazakhstan at world juniors
Slovakia Edges Kazakhstan in Overtime Thriller
Maxim Strbak played the hero for Slovakia, scoring just two minutes and 55 seconds into overtime to secure a thrilling 5-4 victory over Kazakhstan at the world junior hockey championship in Ottawa.
The game took a dramatic turn in the final minutes of regulation as Slovakia held a 4-2 lead. Kazakh forward Asanali Sarkenov was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for cross-checking Slovak forward Frantisek Dej, giving Slovakia a power play advantage.
However, Kazakhstan shocked everyone by scoring two short-handed goals to force overtime. Davlat Nurkenov found the back of the net at 16:37 of the third period, followed by Kirill Lyapunov’s game-tying goal with just 29 seconds remaining.
Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Pekarcik led the way for Slovakia with two goals each, but Kazakhstan fought back with goals from Sarkenov and Artur Gross.
Vladimir Nikitin, a prospect for the Ottawa Senators, stood tall in net for Kazakhstan, making 37 saves including four crucial stops in overtime. On the other hand, Samuel Urban struggled in goal for Slovakia, allowing four goals on just 17 shots.
Despite the loss, Kazakhstan earned their first point of the tournament, moving ahead of Switzerland in the Group B standings. The two teams will face off again on the final day of the preliminary round, with a spot in the quarterfinals up for grabs.
Meanwhile, Latvia secured their spot in the quarterfinals with a hard-fought 4-3 overtime victory over Germany. Eriks Mateiko was the standout player for Latvia, scoring two goals including the game-winner in overtime at 3:23.
Bruno Osmanis and Olivers Murnieks also found the back of the net for Latvia, while Simon Seidl, Edwin Tropmann, and David Lewandowski scored for Germany.
