Penguins prospect Jan Drozg doubled his season goal total for HK SŽ Olimpija on Thursday with a four-goal performance in an 8-1 win over HK Triglav Kranj.
Drozg, playing on a loan until training camps begin in North America, now has eight goals and six assists in five Alps League games this season.
Drozg (wearing No. 21, skating up the right side) opened up the scoring 53 seconds into the game with a redirect goal:
He extended Olimpija's lead to 3-0 in the final minute of the first period with a backhand shot:
Drozg outskated two defenders in the second period and finished with a shot from between his legs to complete the hat trick:
Olimpija went on a 5-on-3 power play early in the third period. Drozg was left wide open in the left circle and scored his fourth of the game on a one-timer:
When I spoke to Drozg earlier this month, he told me that he thought the level of competition in the Alps League was about on par with the ECHL, but that Olimpija was one of the stronger teams in the league.
"(The Alps League) is not as good as (the ECHL) but I think our team is better than an East Coast team," Drozg explained. "I think we have a lot of really good players. I think we are a pretty strong team for that league. It's kind of fun to play. It's not the hockey like I was used to in America, but everyone knows I didn't have a lot of choice (of where to play) this season. I just want to play some games, no matter how good they are, just to get on the ice before the American League or East Coast League started."
Thursday's game was Olimpija's second game back after taking a nearly three-week break after several players on the team tested positive for coronavirus. Drozg told me that at the time we spoke, he had been tested four times, and all four tests came back negative.