BRATISLAVA, April 19 -- After three losses, Slovakia claimed their first victory in the last stage of preparations for the 2019 Ice Hockey World Championship, beating Austria 5-1 in Salzburg on Friday.
The Slovaks registered a great start with Marian Studenic scoring in the third minute on his debut for the national team. Coach Craig Ramsay selected the 20-year-old right wing after Studenic enjoyed a successful season playing for the Binghamton Devils in the American Hockey League, North America's second-tier league.
The early goal encouraged the visitors to keep piling on the pressure and their numerous scoring opportunities were rewarded in the 14th minute when Slovakia's captain Ladislav Nagy managed to slide the puck into Lukas Herzog's goal from a difficult angle.
The Austrians cut the deficit to 1-2 shortly before the first siren when Manuel Ganahl capitalized on Milan Kytnar's reckless pass, but it was the home team's only shot to end up behind Denis Godla's back.
David Buc promptly redirected Michal Sersen's shot in the second period to stretch the lead to 3-1; Adam Liska's quick slapshot and Martin Stajnoch's successful individual effort set the final score at 5-1.
Both teams will meet again on Saturday in Innsbruck (Austria).