Dinamo Minsk squeak by Slovan

HC SLOVAN Bratislava - Dinamo Minsk 1:2 (0:2, 1:0, 0:0) 

Goals: 30. Mojžíš - 5. Niskala (Laine, Drozd), 9. Stapleton (Karalahti) 

Penalties: 6:6 (2 min), powerplay and shorthanded goals: 0:0, officials: Gašilov, Kadyrov - Metaľnikov, Sirotkin (all Rus.), attendance: 10 055

Rosters: 
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Janus - Sersen, Sigalet, J. Tabaček, Mojžíš, Švarný, V. Mihálik - Miklík, Bližňák, Vondrka - Svatoš, Kytnár, Bartovič - Kukumberg, Ölvecký, L. Hudáček - M. Daňo, Bakoš, T. Mikúš - Preisinger 
Dinamo Minsk: Haugen - Karalahti, V. Denisov, Krajíček, Niskala, C. Murphy, Goroško - Irgl, Stapleton, Platt - Meleško,Kitarov, Kulakov - Drozd, Stas, Michaľov - Lopačuk, Pivko, Laine 

The home side opened the game playing the better hockey, although Dinamo posed a serious threat. Stapleton went close in the third minute from the right faceoff dot, but Janus made the save. However, Janus was unable to stop a Niskala shot which beat him in the 5^th minute. Four minutes later and it was 0:2, as Tim Stapleton found the back of the net in the 9^th minute. HC SLOVAN then went to the penalty kill, although they were able to stop Dinamo’s powerplay with little bother, with Janus making a good save on Laine. At the other end of the ice, Haugen did well to deny Bakoš after good play behind the net by Preisinger.

In the 25^th minute, HC SLOVAN somehow conspired to miss a pair of golden chances, with Daňo, Kytnár and Svatoš all failing to find the back of the net. Another HC SLOVAN opportunity went begging as Ölvecký failed to beat Haugen. Mojžíš, whose defensive mistake on the first Dinamo goal was costly, atoned for his error by scoring his first goal for HC SLOVAN with a booming point shot which found the back of the net. Dinamo had a 5 on 3 powerplay towards the end of the period, with Janus having to make two good saves on Murphy. Before the end of the period, Kytnár’s rebound attempt off a Bližňák shot went wide.

From the outset of the third period, HC SLOVAN had the upper hand and took the game to their opponents. Laine went close for Dinamo, but at the other end Sersen and Kukumberg both spurned opportunities, with Haugen continuing to have a fantastic game between the pipes. Following a defensive breakdown, Stapleton had a great chance to make it 1:3 with three minutes left, but Janus made a fantastic save to deny the North American forward. HC SLOVAN Bratislava failed in their comeback attempt, and were left to rue their missed chances as they dropped another three points at home.