Ice Hockey: Poland wins bronze after beating Japan 10:4
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
30.04.2016 12:30
The Polish national ice-hockey team won bronze on home soil after beating Japan in the 1A division of the World Championships.
Poles Krzysztof Zapała (C) and Tomasz Malasiński (R) try to take the puck from Daisuke Obara (L) from Japan. Photo: PAP/Stanisław Rozpędzik
Poland beat Japan 10:4 during the game on Friday, which was the last one of the Championships held in the city of Katowice in southern Poland.
Nine Polish scorers put the puck in the net during the game with Aron Chmielewski scoring twice.
“My players showed great character during the tournament because after the two losses we thought we wouldn’t reach much and people didn’t believe in us. This team has personality and I’m proud of the players,” Polish head coach Jacek Plachta was quoted by the International Ice Hockey Federation as saying following the game.
The Polish team had previously lost to Italy 1:3, South Korea 1:4, then beat Slovenia 4:1, and Austria 1:0.
In order to have a chance of qualifying for the elite championships, they not only needed a victory over Japan, but also a favourable result in the previous two matches on Friday. (rg)