Slovakia men's national ice hockey team
 | |
| Association | Slovak Ice Hockey Federation |
|---|---|
| Most games | Miroslav Šatan (175)1 |
| Top scorer | Miroslav Šatan (85)1 |
| Most points | Miroslav Šatan (162)1 |
| Home stadium | Zimný Štadión Ondreja Nepelu |
| IIHF code | SVK |
| IIHF ranking | 8 |
| Highest IIHF ranking | 3 (2004) |
| Lowest IIHF ranking | 10 (2011) |
| Team colors | |
 | |
| First international | |
 Bohemia 12–0  Slovakia (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; 1 February 1940)2 | |
| Biggest win | |
 Slovakia 20–0 Bulgaria  (Poprad, Slovakia; 18 March 1994)2 | |
| Biggest defeat | |
|
Bohemia 12–0 Slovakia (Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany; 1 February 1940)2 | |
| IIHF World Championships | |
| Appearances | 20 (first in 1994) |
| Best result |
 Gold(2002) |
| Olympics | |
| Appearances | 6 (first in 1994) |
| International record (W–L–T) | |
| 243–180–53 | |
main
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| World Championships | ||
 |
2002 Sweden | Team |
 |
2000 Russia | Team |
|
2012 Finland/Sweden | Team |
 |
2003 Finland | Team |
The Slovak men's national ice hockey team is the national ice hockey team of Slovakia and is controlled by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation. As of March 2010, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), the world governing body of hockey, ranks them as the seventh strongest national team in the world. It is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world.
In the last sixteen years, Slovakia has won four medals at the World Championships, including a gold medal in 2002 in Sweden. In winter Olympic games, Slovakia's highest achievement is 4th place in Vancouver 2010. In the tournament they won against favourites Russia and Sweden, and lost against Canada in the semifinals and against Finland in the bronze medal game.
History
The Slovak national team was formed following the breakup of Czechoslovakia, as the country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. For years, the Czechs kept control over how the national team was run, and even had quotas instituted to ensure a minimal participation of Slovak players on the Czechoslovak national team. While the Czechs were allowed to compete at the highest pool (A), the IIHF ruled that because fewer players of the former Czechoslovak team were Slovaks, Slovakia would be required to start international play in Pool C. However, Slovakia's play in the lower pools won it promotion to pool A by 1996. See also Post-Cold War period of the IIHF world championships.
In the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Slovak team was unable to use its National Hockey League (NHL) players in the preliminary round due to a scheduling conflict. This affected all of the smaller countries, but devastated the Slovak team as most of their players were coming from NHL teams. The NHL had decided to only allow their players to participate in the final medal round, and thus Slovakia failed to qualify finishing a disappointing 13th. This turn of events was troubling to the entire hockey community, and the rules were changed for the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy.
Slovak national team members and notable players include Marián Gáborík of the Los Angeles Kings; Marián Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks; Marcel Hossa; Miroslav Šatan; star goaltender of the New York Islanders Jaroslav Halák and the tallest player in NHL history, Zdeno Chára. In the late 1990s, the St. Louis Blues placed Ľuboš Bartečko, Michal Handzuš, and Pavol Demitra on the same line. This trio became known as the "Slovak Pack," and were able to communicate in their native language without the opposition knowing what they were saying, unless of course they also spoke/understood Slovak.
Tournament record
Olympic Games
| Games | GP | W | OW | T | OL | L | GF | GA | Finish | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920–1992 | Part of Czechoslovakia | ||||||||||||
 1994 Lillehammer
|
8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 35 | 29 | 6th | ||||
 1998 Nagano
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 13 | 10th | ||||
 2002 Salt Lake City
|
4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 13th | ||||
 2006 Turin
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 11 | 5th | ||||
 2010 Vancouver
|
7 | 3 | 1 | – | 0 | 3 | 22 | 18 | 4th | ||||
 2014 Sochi
|
4 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 11th | ||||
World Championship
Lower divisions
| Division | Championship | GP | W | OW | T | OL | L | GF | GA | Finish | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 |  1994 Poprad, Spišská Nová Ves
|
6 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 43 | 3 | Winner, Promoted | 1st |
| B | 1995 Bratislava
|
7 | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 60 | 15 | Winner, Promoted | 1st |
Top division
| Championship | GP | W | OW | T | OL | L | GF | GA | Finish | Rank | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 – 1992 | Part of Czechoslovakia | |||||||||||
 1996 Vienna
|
5 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 3 | 13 | 16 | Group Round | 10th | ||
 1997 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku
|
8 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 4 | 20 | 23 | Consolation Round | 9th | ||
 1998 Basel, Zürich
|
6 | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 11 | 12 | Second round | 7th | ||
| 1999 Oslo, Hamar, Lillehammer
|
6 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 3 | 22 | 21 | Second round | 7th | ||
| 2000 St. Petersburg
|
9 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 34 | 22 | Final |
| ||
 2001 Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover
|
7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 | 18 | Quarter-finals | 7th | ||
 2002 Gothenburg, Karlstad, Jönköping
|
9 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 37 | 22 | Champions |
| ||
| 2003 Helsinki, Tampere, Turku
|
9 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 17 | 3rd Place Game |
| ||
 2004 Prague, Ostrava
|
9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 9 | 3rd Place Game | 4th | ||
| 2005 Vienna, Innsbruck
|
7 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 17 | Quarter-finals | 5th | ||
 2006 Riga
|
7 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 26 | 14 | Quarter-finals | 8th | ||
| 2007 Moscow
|
7 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 | 24 | 23 | Quarter-finals | 6th | ||
| 2008 Quebec City, Halifax
|
5 | 2 | 1 | – | 0 | 2 | 18 | 12 | Relegation Round | 13th | ||
| 2009 Bern, Kloten
|
6 | 1 | 1 | – | 2 | 2 | 12 | 24 | Second round | 10th | ||
| 2010 Cologne, Mannheim, Gelsenkirchen
|
6 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 | 13 | 19 | Second round | 12th | ||
| 2011 Bratislava, Košice
|
6 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 | 16 | 15 | Second round | 10th | ||
| 2012 Helsinki, Stockholm
|
10 | 7 | 0 | – | 0 | 3 | 30 | 23 | Final |
| ||
| 2013 Stockholm, Helsinki
|
8 | 3 | 0 | – | 1 | 4 | 22 | 20 | Quarter-finals | 8th | ||
 2014 Minsk
|
7 | 3 | 0 | – | 1 | 3 | 20 | 21 | Group stage | 9th | ||
| 2015 Prague, Ostrava
|
7 | 1 | 2 | – | 2 | 2 | 17 | 19 | Group stage | 9th | ||
| 2016 Moscow, St. Petersburg
|
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World Cup
| Year | GP | W | OW | T | OL | L | GF | GA | Finish | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | – | 3 | 9 | 19 | Round 1 | 7th |
| 2004 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 18 | Quarter-finals | 8th |
All-time record
The following table shows Slovakia's international record from 1940 – 1945 and since 1993, correct as of 12 May 2015.
Source:[1]
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austria |
29 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 123 | 50 | +73 |
 Belarus |
28 | 16 | 1 | 11 | 77 | 49 | +28 |
| Bulgaria |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | +20 |
 Canada |
49 | 22 | 4 | 23 | 157 | 142 | +15 |
 Czech Republic |
60 | 13 | 7 | 40 | 129 | 212 | −83 |
 Denmark |
13 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 59 | 29 | +30 |
 Finland |
29 | 6 | 3 | 20 | 59 | 88 | −29 |
 France |
22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 103 | 42 | +61 |
 Germany |
49 | 27 | 1 | 21 | 126 | 114 | +12 |
 Great Britain |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 4 | +10 |
 Hungary |
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 46 | 18 | +28 |
 Italy |
17 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 72 | 41 | +31 |
 Japan |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 12 | +27 |
 Kazakhstan |
9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 15 | +27 |
 Latvia |
25 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 84 | 57 | +27 |
 Netherlands |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 4 | +20 |
 Norway |
27 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 105 | 54 | +51 |
 Poland |
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 10 | +26 |
 Romania |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 3 | +36 |
 Russia |
30 | 9 | 5 | 16 | 79 | 91 | −12 |
 Slovenia |
11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 18 | +24 |
 Switzerland |
60 | 25 | 7 | 28 | 146 | 134 | +12 |
 Sweden |
33 | 10 | 3 | 20 | 75 | 102 | −27 |
 Ukraine |
10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 49 | 18 | +31 |
 United States |
21 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 53 | 73 | −20 |
| Finland olympic |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 |
| Russia B |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 9 | −1 |
| Sweden Vikings |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 8 | −3 |
| Bohemia and Moravia |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | −12 |
| Wiener EG |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
| Switzerland B |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 Yugoslavia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 |
 Croatia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | +5 |
 Bucharest |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 |
| Total | 560 | 282 | 49 | 229 | 1826 | 1417 | +409 |
- Overtime and penalty shots victories and losses are counted towards wins/losses.
References
- ↑ "SLOVENSKO verzus SVET" (in Slovak). SZLH. 20 May 2013. http://www.hockeyslovakia.sk/sk/clanok/slovensko-verzus-svet. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
External links
