After starting with two losses nobody counted on Slovenia but after beating Kazakhstan they are back in business and can gain promotion against Italy.

The "Mission Budapest" with promotion as goal started in a frustrating fashion with losses against low-seeded Great Britain and Poland. On Wednesday against Hungary the puck finally bounced their way and before tomorrow's showdown they the Slovenes beat Kazakhstan, the team that had started with two wins, XX.

Miha Verlic was the man of the match with a hat trick and an assist.

With a win tomorrow against Italy, the Slovenes can not only avoid relegation but even have the chance to win the tournament or reach second place, also enough for promotion. But with a potential 3-2 record and nine points they depend on other results too in a final day that will be a pleasure for the math
geniuses.

The game started with goals for both teams. Kazakhstan had a power play early in the game but once it was over, Slovenia reacted with the opening marker on a
counter-attack. Jan Urbas entered the zone from the left side and Verlic converted the centring pass at 5:17. The happiness, however, was gone a minute later when Yegor Petukhov attempted to go counter-clockwise behind the net from
the right side but then returned to finish the wraparound on the initial side. Slovenian goalie Gasper Kroselj blocked the first shot but was beaten on the second.

Four minutes later Kazakhstan got the lead. Dmitri Grents got the puck between the face-off circles and beat Kroselj with a high shot. But Slovenia found back
into the game when Urbas converted a drop pass from Verlic with four minutes left in the opening frame.

The second period started cautious with Slovenia having the edge - and the lead
after seven-and-a-half minutes. During a power play Verlic scored his second goal of the game by deflecting Aleksandar Magovac's shot from the blue line.

The Slovenes had to battle hard for the lead and it took its toll with bruises or even more. Midway the second period Robert Sabolic had to be helped off the ice after a bodycheck from Anton Sagadeyev hit his shoulder badly. The Slovenes
didn't get the power play they demanded, instead Bostjan Golicic was sent to the penalty box for Slashing in the next shift.

At some point Golicic was back, other penalties handed and with a 4-on-3 power play for Slovenia, Sabahudin Kovacevic's long shot went through traffic and between goalie Henrik Karlsson and the post into the net. It would have been a welcome two-goal lead with two minutes left in the middle frame, however, Kazakhstan reacted with the next shift. Just 14 seconds later Alikhan Asetov had the puck, saw it blocked by Slovenian defenceman Ziga Pavlin but scored on his rebound to make it a one-goal game.

Can the Slovenes dare to dream? They at least successfully managed to prevent Kazakhstan from scoring in the third period and at 13:56 scored on a rebound. Verlic, making it a hat trick day, was the man for the 5-3 goal.

MARTIN MERK

http://wmia2018.iihf.hockey/en/news/kaz-slo/
--- SBBSecho 3.04-Win32
* Origin: TequilaMockingbird Online - Toms River, NJ (1:266/404)