The semi-finals have come to a conclusion with DVTK and MAC Budapest advancing to the finals. MAC swept Brasov, one of the biggest reason for the sweep was one forward who had six goals and three assists and scored in every game, because of this Balázs Somogyi was the MVP in the semi-finals.
Balázs Somogyi is currently in his second season with MAC Budapest but was born and grew up in the hockey hotbed of Dunaújváros. He came up through the local youth system before moving on to the RedBull Salzburg academy where he was teammates with fellow Hungarians Ádám Fekti, Dávid Kiss, Dániel Kóger, Péter Hetényi and Gergő Nagy. After two seasons in Austria he came back to Hungary and played his first pro season in Hungary with the Budapest Stars, where they were league champions. After the Stars folded he went back home to Dunaújváros where he won two league champions before moving on to Miskolc. After one season in Miskolc he picked up his fourth league title. Somogyi has also represented Hungary at the U18 and U20 World Championships and has played for the national team as well.
Personally you had a productive semi-finals, what was the reasoning for this?
I don’t really know what the reason for this, maybe because these were high pressure games and I had to raise my game. Within the team things were also falling into place as well and we were able to support each other which worked out well for me.
What was the key to MAC Budapest sweeping Brasov in the semi-finals?
Brasov was a strong team, but I think they were just worn down by UTE in the previous round. They were not an easy team to face but luckily we were the better team. In the second game we were able to come back from being down 3-0 to win the series.
Staring from the second game on in the series against Brasov, you were missing a line of forwards, how did this affect the team?
It is never good to lose three quality forwards, we made it to the finals with them not being match fit. However guys who did not play much during the season were able to step when they were needed and did it fanatically.
You have won four league championships in your career, how does your championship experience help now?
I think that these experiences can always help me, this shows that have been on the right road throughout my career.
What can we expect in the finals?
We believe that we can win the finals, MAC has been to the past two seasons and we are hungry to have success and to take home the title.