On Wednesday and Thursday, a double match of the juniors took place on the main playing area of Steel Arena. Our hockey players entered the ice-hockey ground against their opponents from Banská Bystrica. The first duel started successfully for the Košice Steelers. Martin Tvrdoň, assisted by Michal Kapičák and Jozef Viliam Kmec, could score at the very beginning of the first period. However, in the third minute the opponent sent the puck beyond the back of our goalkeeper and equalized again. However, our hockey players were not disturbed and in the twelfth minute Peter Repčík shot a goal, with assistances of Miroslav and Martin Tvrdoň. Lukáš Vaculik scored another goal in the fifteenth minute. He was assisted by Jozef Viliam Kmec and Jakub Demek. The second period was still successful for our team of young players. Lukáš Vaculik scored in the eighth minute during the power play. Jakub Demek and Michal Kapičák also contributed to the beautiful action shot, they assisted him. In the third period our hockey players scored twice. One goal was attributed to Lukáš Vaculík, assisted by Jakub Demek and Marko Ragan. Last goal in the match was scored in the last seconds. Lukáš Vaculik sent the puck beyond the back of the goalkeeper of the opponent. He was assisted by Marko Ragan and Lukáš Kaža. So, the match ended with a score of 6:1.

Thursday match was in the spirit of anxiety. The goals on both sides were shot in just the second period. We scored at the beginning of this period, when Lukáš Kaža managed to score. He was assisted by Peter Repčík and Martin Tvrdoň. Immediately after that also the opponents overcame our goalkeeper, after which there was an overtime, but no team was successful. However, hockey players from Banská Bystrica won after penalty shooting.

Košice youth team also competed in the weekend double match. This match took place on the ice of MsHKM Žilina. The beginning of the first match was unfavorable for both teams. The first period ended with a score of 0:0. However, in the second period we scored two goals. Jakub Jadrný, assisted by Denis Šándor and Jozef Viliam Kmec scored in the ninth minute. In the eleventh minute Lukáš Kaža was able to shoot a goal and Mykhailo Krasnozhon scored in the fifteenth minute. Norbert Miškuf, Antonín Bartoš, and Marek Ragan scored other three goals in the third period. So, the match ended with a score of 6:0.

Our youth team played as guests also in the second match against Žilina. This time, however, the first period was successful for Košice players. Lukáš Kaža scored in the fifth minute. He was assisted by Marián Štec and Norbert Miškuf. He scored another goal before the end of the period. He was assisted by Jan Bartoš and Martin Tvrdoň. Immediately at the beginning of the second period the home team managed to send the puck beyond the back of our goalkeeper. However, our team was not able to score at all in the second period. The hockey players from Banská Bystrica equalized the match at the beginning of the third period. Two minutes later Antoním Bartoš scored another goal. He was assisted by Miroslav Tvrdoň and Peter Repčík; the latter confirmed the winning from Košice when he scored at the end of the match.

The derby of juniors also took place during the weekend in the Ice-hockey Stadium in Košice. They entered the ice-hockey ground against their opponent from Zvolen. The first period of the eleventh round in the extension part was not going well for our team. The opponent sent the puck twice beyond the back of our goalkeeper. Our juniors were not disturbed, and Samuel Nagy scored immediately at the beginning of the second period. He was assisted by Jakub Demek and Samuel Hrabčák. Košice team managed to equalize the score in the third period, at the beginning of the eleventh minute. Samuel Nagy and Patrik Frič scored other two goals.

The second match against Zvolen was very successful for our hockey players. They overpowered the opponent by nine goals. In the first period Adam Markuš, Samuel Nagy, and Patrik Frič from their team managed to send the puck four times beyond the back of the goalkeeper. Gabriel Vereš scored a beautiful goal at the end of the period. During the power play he scored during penalty shoot-outs and shot his fourth goal in the match. The shooting continued also in the second period. Lukáš Vaculik, assisted by Martin Bučko and Patrik Barger, scored immediately at the beginning of the second period. Patrik Frič scored in the seventh minute. He was assisted by Samuel Pavlík and Adam Markuš. The opponents managed to reduce the score three times in total. They sent the puck beyond the back of our goalkeeper twice in the second period and once in the third period. However, the home players continued shooting. Samuel Pavlík scored another goal at the end of the second period. Lukáš Vaculik and Samuel Pavlík scored in the third period.

After the break also the cadets played on the ice of Steel Arena in the thirteenth and fourteenth round. The thirteenth round took place on Saturday. They competed with the team of young players from Ružinov. Our cadets started the match successfully. Oliver Sivák was the first who scored in the match. He was assisted by Aurel Vrašťák and Jakub Magda. Immediately after that René Mandelík, assisted by Jakub Hudec and Timotej Varga, scored another goal. The opponent reduced the score at the beginning of the second period, but our hockey players did not disappoint expectations. Leo Eperješi, assisted by Samuel Galický and Lukáš Priščák, scored in the eight minute. The opponents reduced the score again at the end of the middle period, during a power play. They equalized at the beginning of the third period, but our cadets responded almost immediately. Lukáš Priščák scored in the twelfth minute. Oliver Orosz showed the superiority of Košice at the end of the duel once again. So, the match ended with a score of 5:3.

Bratislava hockey players also presented themselves during the Sunday match on the ice of the Steel Arena Training Hall. The first period ended with the score 0:0. However, Oliver Orosz, assisted by Lukáš Priščák and Timotej Varga scored in the second period. The opponents reduced the score at the end of the period. The third period started successfully for our cadets. Timotej Varga scored immediately at its beginning. He was assisted by Lukáš Priščák and Jakub Hudec. The last goal of HC Košice was scored in the fourteenth minute. Oliver Sivák, assisted by Oliver Orosz and Filip Janočko sent the puck beyond the back of the goalkeeper of the opponent. Cadets from Slovan scored other two goals. So, the match ended with a score of 4:3.

HC KE Media Team (krausz)