Slovakia's Michal Pradel was tremendous on Wednesday to lead his team to a 1-0 shootout win over Finland.
Casual hockey fans might scroll through the scores and see a 1-0 final and think, ‘what a yawner of a game’.
But, no, the game between Finland and Slovakia was anything but boring as this game had a bit of everything – Grade A chances by both teams, a number of ten-bell saves by Finland’s Patrik Kerkola and Slovakia’s Michal Pradel and, even, a penalty shot goal that was determined to be no goal.
The Finns and Slovaks put it all out there to entertain fans during the opener of the 2025 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen and the exciting game ended in an exciting manner. Three periods and the three-on-three overtime settling nothing before Michal Svrcek and Alex Misiak scored in the shootout to give Slovakia a thrilling 1-0 victory over Finland.
"Amazing feeling for me, for our team," said Misiak. "Our first win in our first game for the tournament and we hope we will have many more."
And though it was Misiak’s beautiful backhand to forehand shootout goal that gave Slovakia the win and two points in the standings (Finland settled for one point in the shootout loss), the Slovakian hero on this day was goaltender Pradel, who out-dueled his Finnish counterpart Patrik Kerkola just a bit for the win. Both goaltenders were tremendous and Pradel and Kerkola were named players of the game for their respective teams.
Pradel stopped 34 shots through three periods in overtime and then added four more stops in the shootout for good measure. Kerkola was perfect through 65 minutes as well with 26 saves, but couldn’t stop them all, with Svrcek’s snapshot and Misiak’s perfect deke producing the only shootout goals in this game.
"The game was good and I think I played a good game," said a disappointed Kerkola.
Pradel had a number of incredible saves but one in overtime sticks out as the best. With just under three minutes to play in the three-on-three frame, Finland’s Jesper Kotajarvi found some open ice in the slot, and awaited a perfect pass from Juho Piiparinen. Kotajarvi one-timed the puck but Pradel slid across and kicked out his toe to keep the game scoreless.
Pradel said he wasn't feeling extra pressure as the game wore on, knowing that the goalie at the other end wasn't allowing anything in, either.
"It was a good game from our side. We tried hard and we won so that’s the main point," said Pradel. "I think I always try to be focused. I don’t think about what other players do, just focus on myself and my job."
The Slovaks appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the second period. Tomas Chrenko had a breakaway but was slashed by Finland’s Appo Vanninen. Although Chrenko didn’t get a shot off, he was awarded a penalty shot.
On the ensuing penalty shot, Chrenko went forehand to backhand back to forehand and stuffed the puck in past Kerkola. One zip Slovakia, right? Not so fast. The referees on the ice determined that Chrenko took a second shot to jam the puck in on the penalty shot and that decision was upheld a few minutes later upon video review.
To make matters worse, the Slovaks weren’t able to score on a powerplay they were awarded moments after Chrenko’s breakaway, with Finland’s Kotajarvi in the box for slashing. It was a bit of a double whammy on Team Slovakia and gave the Finns a boost.
With under five minutes to play in the second, Finland’s Max Westergard forced a turnover and had a breakaway but his quick snap shot was turned aside by Pradel, another memorable moment of the game.
The teams showed their competitive fire with an after-whistle scrum in Slovakia’s end late in the second as the Slovakia defence didn’t like Westerberg stabbing at what looked like a loose puck that was grabbed by Pradel.
Both teams return to action on Thursday, with Finland taking on Norway and Slovakia facing Canada. The Slovaks have finished fourth in back-to-back U18s and would love to reach the podium for the first time since 2003. Finland won brone in 2022 but had disappointing finishes the past two years.
But, no, the game between Finland and Slovakia was anything but boring as this game had a bit of everything – Grade A chances by both teams, a number of ten-bell saves by Finland’s Patrik Kerkola and Slovakia’s Michal Pradel and, even, a penalty shot goal that was determined to be no goal.
The Finns and Slovaks put it all out there to entertain fans during the opener of the 2025 IIHF World Men’s Under-18 Championship at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen and the exciting game ended in an exciting manner. Three periods and the three-on-three overtime settling nothing before Michal Svrcek and Alex Misiak scored in the shootout to give Slovakia a thrilling 1-0 victory over Finland.
"Amazing feeling for me, for our team," said Misiak. "Our first win in our first game for the tournament and we hope we will have many more."
And though it was Misiak’s beautiful backhand to forehand shootout goal that gave Slovakia the win and two points in the standings (Finland settled for one point in the shootout loss), the Slovakian hero on this day was goaltender Pradel, who out-dueled his Finnish counterpart Patrik Kerkola just a bit for the win. Both goaltenders were tremendous and Pradel and Kerkola were named players of the game for their respective teams.
Pradel stopped 34 shots through three periods in overtime and then added four more stops in the shootout for good measure. Kerkola was perfect through 65 minutes as well with 26 saves, but couldn’t stop them all, with Svrcek’s snapshot and Misiak’s perfect deke producing the only shootout goals in this game.
"The game was good and I think I played a good game," said a disappointed Kerkola.
Pradel had a number of incredible saves but one in overtime sticks out as the best. With just under three minutes to play in the three-on-three frame, Finland’s Jesper Kotajarvi found some open ice in the slot, and awaited a perfect pass from Juho Piiparinen. Kotajarvi one-timed the puck but Pradel slid across and kicked out his toe to keep the game scoreless.
Pradel said he wasn't feeling extra pressure as the game wore on, knowing that the goalie at the other end wasn't allowing anything in, either.
"It was a good game from our side. We tried hard and we won so that’s the main point," said Pradel. "I think I always try to be focused. I don’t think about what other players do, just focus on myself and my job."
The Slovaks appeared to take a 1-0 lead in the second period. Tomas Chrenko had a breakaway but was slashed by Finland’s Appo Vanninen. Although Chrenko didn’t get a shot off, he was awarded a penalty shot.
On the ensuing penalty shot, Chrenko went forehand to backhand back to forehand and stuffed the puck in past Kerkola. One zip Slovakia, right? Not so fast. The referees on the ice determined that Chrenko took a second shot to jam the puck in on the penalty shot and that decision was upheld a few minutes later upon video review.
To make matters worse, the Slovaks weren’t able to score on a powerplay they were awarded moments after Chrenko’s breakaway, with Finland’s Kotajarvi in the box for slashing. It was a bit of a double whammy on Team Slovakia and gave the Finns a boost.
With under five minutes to play in the second, Finland’s Max Westergard forced a turnover and had a breakaway but his quick snap shot was turned aside by Pradel, another memorable moment of the game.
The teams showed their competitive fire with an after-whistle scrum in Slovakia’s end late in the second as the Slovakia defence didn’t like Westerberg stabbing at what looked like a loose puck that was grabbed by Pradel.
Both teams return to action on Thursday, with Finland taking on Norway and Slovakia facing Canada. The Slovaks have finished fourth in back-to-back U18s and would love to reach the podium for the first time since 2003. Finland won brone in 2022 but had disappointing finishes the past two years.
Slovakia vs Finland - 2025 IIHF U18 Men's World Championship
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