Nagy hat-trick downs Zagreb!

Medveščak Zagreb – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 1:2 (0:1, 0:0, 1:1)

Goals: 45. Thomas (Pelletier, St. Pierre) – 5. Nagy, 53. Nagy (Jeglič, Sersen), 60 Nagy (Vondrka) 

Lineups:
Medveščak Zagreb: Brust – Martinovic, Flood, Mezei, Hutchinson, Katic, Carle, – Bjorkstrand, Murray, Glumac – Hedden, Wright, Thomas – Pelletier, St. Pierre, Segal – Perkovich, Anderson, Palushaj
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Janus – Sersen, Sigalet, Baranka, Foster, Starosta, Štajnoch, Brejčák – Vondrka, Nedorost, Nagy – Bartovič, Surový, Murley – Hudáček, Tičar, Jeglič – Lunter, Šťastný, Netík

The third game between the teams was marked by penalties right from the start. In quick time, two Zagreb players went to the sin bin. While Slovan made little of the first, it was once again Ladislav Nagy who came up with the goods in the second, foxing the whole defence and goaltender Brust to score from behind the net – 0:1. Zagreb could have equalised in their own powerplay, but Bill Thomas, alone in front of goal, failed to connect with the bouncing puck. The penalties continued on both sides, but neither team took advantage of them. Shorthanded near the end of the period, Surový and Bartovič took on the lone defender, the former shooting well from the captain's pass, but Brust was well-placed to make the save.

As Medveščak continued their powerplay at the start of the middle period, Slovan were fortunate not to concede, but then began to play more positively. In the 23rd minute, former Zagreb player Kurtis Foster shot powerfully, but into the side netting. A few minutes later,  Surový put Bartovič through, but Brust was equal to his shot. The visitors then set up in the Medveščak zone, partly thanks to Mezei's foul, but none of Nagy's efforts ended up in the net. Half-way through the half, Sersen sat out a penalty, and Segal - scorer of two goals in Bratislava - could have punished Slovan, but Jaro Janus saved well with the pad. In the 36th minute, Slovene Tičar was unable to find a way past Brust, even at the second attempt.

In the 42nd minute, Janus and the Slovan defence were on guard to deal with a dangerous shot from Pelletier and the resulting rebound, but three minutes later, the same man Pelletier picked out Thomas in the clear, and he delighted the home fans with the equaliser - 1:1. In the 49th they could have taken the lead - Pelletier sold Janus, but his finish was just millimetres off target. Hutchinson's ugly foul on Nagy soon after led to a four-minute powerplay, and of course, it was Nagy himself who made him pay. His accurate finish swept Slovan into the lead - 1:2. Matikainen's forces defended sensibly towards the end of the game, keeping the one-goal lead until three seconds from the end, when Ladislav Nagy completed his second hat-trick of the season against Zagreb - 1:3. 

Petri Matikainen: It was a difficult game for us. Medveščak has a quality team, with a lot of Canadian players, which shows in their playing style. Today we played better than we did at home on Wednesday. We were more effective, we won the important contests, and our forwards put more pressure on the opponents' goal. It's great to win here and take all the points home with us. Ladislav Nagy was hungry for goals today, he was really active and he translated that effort into his second hat-trick of the season.