Last weekend, the Slovenian team HK Dolenjske Toplice visited Skopje. The Slovenian team has been our friend for years – Macedonians play in the club and lead it.

On Friday and Saturday, friendly matches were played between the “rest of the Macedonian hockey players” and HK Dolenjske Toplice. The Slovenians dominated the first match with a score of 9-2.

“Finally, the players from Slovenia were able to visit us. We have been traveling to them for years and performing at their roller hockey tournament. One of the most prestigious tournaments in Slovenia,” explained Zoranco Griovski, one of the remaining hockey players since the federation literally stopped functioning after the corona crisis. “We want to introduce a tradition, to visit them in the summer on roller skates, and in the winter they visit Macedonia for ice hockey.”

Two Macedonians also play for HK Dolenjske Toplice. The brothers Peter and Rok Šarlohar, with roots in Delčevo. And they are not just players, Peter has been coaching the youth team at the club for years, and Rok is part of the management. Both have also played in Macedonian jerseys, Rok defended the net for Macedonia when our national team won the Development Cup in 2018.

Another Macedonian who lives in Slovenia also traveled with the team from Toplice. Davor Anastasov from Jesenice, who scored the first goal for a Macedonian national team in ice hockey.