Switzerland gain draw with Slovakia

Switzerland salvage some honour in their last match before the world championships Keystone

Switzerland have managed a 3-3 draw with Slovakia in their last warm-up game before the ice hockey world championships.

Less than 24 hours after being thrashed 6-1 by the same side, Ralph Krueger’s men took to the ice at Kreuzlingen determined to salvage some honour before heading off to Sweden.

They also had reinforcement in goal with Martin Gerber putting in a far better performance than Lars Weibel had done on Friday.

Switzerland went behind in the 14th minute after Dusan Milo scored. But the home side was soon back on level terms – Bjorn Kristen equalising in the 19th minute.

Both sides scored again in the second period – the Slovaks once again taking the lead and Sandy Jeannin levelling for Switzerland in the 36th minute.

In the third period, the Swiss took the lead – Adrian Wichser scoring in the 41st minute.

Wichser, Flavien Conne, Mattia Baldi and Martin Höhener all came close to adding to Switzerland’s tally. But Milo added his second and Slovakia’s third in a 52nd-minute powerplay to dash Swiss hopes of a win.

Krueger was pleased with his team’s performance. “We started the match very well and we kept a good defensive line throughout,” he said after the match.

Immediately after the game, Krueger reduced the squad for the world championships to 25 players. They’ll fly to Sweden on Tuesday, although only 23 of them will be eligible to be registered for the tournament.

swissinfo with agencies