Women’s hockey may have found its new darling. The only 14-year-old Slovakian Nela Lopusanova caused wide eyes at the U18 World Cup with a goal for “Michigan” on Thursday.
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Born in 2008, the Zilina native is tops in scores with 10 in just four games in the Sweden-based tournament.
She also provided her family’s only moment of celebration in a 6-1 loss to the Swedes. She defied gravity in the first half, expertly circling the net before slipping the disc into the top half to level the game at 1-1.
Lopusanova’s achievements are nothing short of flash in the pan. Despite her young age, with MsHKN Zilina she crushes the competition in Slovakia’s first women’s league. She has 25 goals and 40 points in six games this season.
Lopusanova is further proof that Slovak ice hockey is doing better than ever. For men, Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec, Filip Mesar and Dalibor Dvorsky are all youngsters destined for great success in North American arenas.
We can also expect NCAA teams to aggressively court Lopusanova if given the chance.