TRINEC, Czech Republic — A late goal by Daniel Tkac helped Slovakia avoid an upset in its opener at the world junior hockey championship.
Tkac broke a 1-1 tie with 2:56 left, leading Slovakia to a 3-1 win over Kazakhstan (0-2) in Group A action on Friday.
It was the second straight close loss for Kazakhstan, which survived the relegation round last year to earn a berth in this year’s tournament.
Oliver Okuliar and Robert Dzugan, with an empty-netter, also scored for Slovakia. Kazakhstan lost 5-3 to Switzerland on Thursday.
Maxim Musorov scored his third goal of the tournament for Kazakhstan against Slovakia.
Slovakia outshot Kazakhstan 24-23.
The United States faced Germany later Friday in the only other game of the day.
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