Ball hockey knockout stage – live!

Pumped up: Canada expect to be in the mix at the business end of the tournament (Photograph by Blaire Simmons)



Bermuda's bid for the Masters World Ball Hockey Championships title ended after losing 3-2 to Slovakia in a shoot-out at the Pembroke Community Centre last night.

Forward Peter Figura put Slovakia ahead 2-1 in sudden death before goaltender Peter Jurošek saved Bermuda forward Cory Caouette's attempt to clinch his team's victory and dash the home side's hopes of progressing to the quarter finals.

“A shoot-out loss is a tough way to get knocked out of a tournament, but that's part of the game,” Chris Coleman, the Bermuda captain, told The Royal Gazette.

Bermuda had to beat Slovakia in their final group game at all costs in order to progress to the quarter finals after losing 5-0 against Canada earlier in the day.

“We came in and knew we had to get a shoot-out win or better and unfortunately just came up short,” Coleman said.

“We came into this tournament not knowing what to expect and these are the best ball hockey players in the world.

“This is an extremely competitive tournament and I put my hat out to the guys who competed hard. It's amazing that we did as well as we did.”

Bermuda put in another solid shift on the rink but ultimately paid the price for squandering gilt edge chances, particularly in the third period when forward Ronnie Dzurus missed an open net and Caouette failed to capitalise on a one-on-one with goaltender Jurosek.

“We had a lot of chances and there were a lot of loose balls around the net and unfortunately they just didn't go in for us tonight,” Coleman said.

Bermuda play Austria today in the consolation semi-finals.

Day 6

Day 5