Swiss hot streak cools on ice

Switzerland's Benjamin Winkler tries to fend off Belarus' Pavel Varivonchik at the Tatra Cup Keystone

In their second match of hockey's Tatra Cup, the Swiss tied with Belarus, 1-1, in Trencin, Slovakia on Friday.

The tie came as a disappointment, just one day after Switzerland beat Norway 3-0. But despite the tie, Switzerland still have a chance of winning the international tournament if they can beat Slovakia on Saturday.

In Friday’s game, the Swiss players threw most of their energy into putting up a good defence against the top team from Belarus. But despite their efforts, they weren’t able to topple them.

Switzerland’s Martin Plüss scored first, 29 minutes into the game. But Belarus’ defensive player, Yerkovich, shot one into the net just seven minutes later.

Neither side scored for the rest of the match.

Switzerland made a flying start at the tournament on Thursday, scoring in the first, second and third periods of their game against Norway.

The Swiss coach, Ralph Krueger, said the match was one of the “best they ever played in terms of engagement and aggression.”

Krueger hopes his team will sizzle again on Saturday and that they can “take Slovakia by surprise by putting up a strong offence”.

swissinfo with agencies