Historic win for Hungary keeps salvation hopes alive

Before the tournament, probably not even the amazing fans of Hungary would have bet a lot on their team staying in the Top Division. So the team went into the contest against Belarus without any pressure and found the perfect start. After only five minutes and 29 seconds, the Belarussians turned the puck over in their own zone. Daniel Koger picked the puck up in the slot and smartly gave it back to Gergo Nagy, who did not waste this chance to make it 1-0 for Hungary. The underdog continued to show no fear and increased the lead. Being shorthanded did not scare them, as Janos Vas brought the puck into the slot area. None of his teammates were able to touch the puck, but a stick of an opposing player tipped the puck in, giving Hungary a surprising 2-0 lead. Belarus would be able to cut the deficit to one in the first period, as CSKA Moscow-forward Geoff Platt scored on the man advantage.

In the second period, Hungary was for the first time in this tournament able to outshoot an opponent. Artus Gavrus tied the game up for Belarus in the 27^th minute, but the Hungarians would respond. In the 36^th minute of the game Balazs Sebok sprinted to be face-to-face with netminder Kevin Lalande, deking the Canadian-born goaltender out to regain the lead for Hungary. The ‘Magyars’ still had not enough and Belarus allowed another odd-man-rush three minutes later. This time Vilmos Gallo sniped it past a chanceless Lalande. Dave Lewis, head coach of Belarus, decided that he had to wake his team up somehow, pulling Lalande and continuing the game with Vitali Koval between the pipes.

His desperate attempt to change the momentum did not work though, as also in the third period Belarus would only shoot six times on the Hungarian net. Goalkeeper Miklos Rajna made no mistake and Nagy added the empty netter, making the upset official.

The Hungarians could celebrate their first victory in the Top Division in 77 years. In their last participation in 2009, they were relegated without a single win. This year they have now put themselves in a position in which they can dream about playing among the world’s best 16 also next year. For Belarus on the other hand the relegation would be a huge setback after having qualified for the quarter finals in the previous two world championships.

With one game to play, Hungary now is on seventh place in Group A,  meaning that right now they have the chance to become the first team since 2007 not to be relegated immediately after earning promotion. Will Hungary’s Cinderella story continue on Monday against Germany? Or will Belarus find a way to beat France and avoid its first relegation since 2003?

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