Dramatic Duel goes Dinamo's Way

Dinamo Minsk – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 3:2 (SO) - (1:0, 1:1, 0:1, 0:0 - 1:0)

Goals: 6. Linglet, 40. Vesce (Ellison, Bailen), deciding penalty shot: Stepanov – 22. Nagy (Barker, Murley), 57. Jeglič (Netík)

Lineups:
Dinamo Minsk: Haugen (Milchakov) – Krajíček, Goroshko, Nogachov, Bailen, Shinkevich, Lisovets, Badun – Kalyuzhny (C), Szczechura, Cheechoo (A) – Linglet, Vesce, Ellison – Drozd, Meleshko (A), Materukhin – Stepanov, Kitarov, Razvadovsky
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Backlund (Janus) – Sersen (A), Luža, Barker, Štajnoch, Kozák, Starosta, Kudrna – Nagy (A), Surový, Bartovič (C) – Jeglič, Tičar, Netík – Vondrka, Murley, Hudáček – White, Ölvecký, Šťastný

The home side created a number of opportunities early in the game, forcing Backlund to be at the ready from the outset, but it was Matikainen's men who spurned the better chances. Just 40 seconds in, Surový got away in a two-on-one break, but shot at Haugen, as did Šťastný soon after. Dinamo had a powerplay in the fifth minute after Netík unluckily put the puck out, and Linglet immediately dealt out the punishment, his shot from Barker's pass unstoppable – 1:0. Šťastný could have restored parity on the break, as could Netík, but Haugen once again kept them out. Linglet nearly scored again in the 17th minute, but Backlund reacted well to the slapshot. The closing seconds of the first period belonged to the Sky Blues, with Vondrka finishing dangrously, and the fourth line creating good pressure.

Early in the second period, Slovan made up for their near misses in the first period, as Ladislav Nagy made no mistake in converting during a powerplay – 1:1. Our players were then penalised for too may players on the ice, and it was only thanks to Backlund working wonders that Kaluzhny a Cheechoo failed to score. Our second line then made itself known to the home defence, as Jeglič hit the post in the 26th minute. Slovan then failed to make use of a powerplay, followed by good chances for both Bartovič and Nagy. In the 37th, Backlund once again pulled off some oustanding saves, catching efforts from Kaluzhny and Ellison. Alas, just seconds from the siren, the goaltender finally conceded, as Vesce converted in a powerplay - 2:1. 

Mat Ellison hit the post early in the third period, while Slovan carved out a number of chances in a powerplay, but Haugen dealt with efforts from Nagy and Barker, not without a bit of luck. Backlund pulled off further miracle saves in the final period; Linglet already had his arms raised in celebration, only to see the goalie's mitt intervene. Seven minutes from time, Slovan piled on serious pressure, Vondrka, Surový, Štajnoch and Jeglič all having good chances, causing home coach Pokovič to call a time-out. Even Netík could not score from between the circles, and Hudáćek suffered the same fate. But our second line brought joy to the whole bench when Žiga Jeglič fired home the equaliser - 2:2, and the game spilled over into overtime.

In the 61st minute, Tičar got away, but his shot struck the left-hand post. Slovan was the more active in the five-minute period, but just could not find the net, so the game headed to a shootout. Only Jeglič scored for Slovan, while the hosts beat Backlund twice to pick up the two points.

Petri Matikainen: The fans saw an interesting game today. The hosts have a great team, and they showed their strength especially in powerplays. Despite the unfavourable scoreline, our team kept fighting to the end; we showed a huge will to win, created pressure, made chances and scored a goal. I'm pleased with the way we played even-handed, when we were more active. Unfortuantely we didn't manage to seal vicotry in overtime or in the shootout; we wanted more, but at least we got one point.