ALL THREE POINTS IN MYTISHCHI

Atlant Mytishchi – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 0:1 (0:0, 0:1, 0:0)

Goals: 26. J. Mikúš (Škoula, Vondrka)

Lineups:
Atlant: Galimov – Novopashin, Niskala, Petrov, Rukavishnikov, Velikov, Dyblenko, Atyushov, Batyrshin – Kablukov, Koltsov, Yashin – Engqvist, Radulov, Shmelyov – Trubachov, Glukov, Artyukhin – Mikhnov, Haataja, Kadeikin.
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Janus  - Sersen, Škoula, Bartovič, J. Mikúš, Radivojevič - Mojžíš, Sigalet, Vondrka, Bližňák, Miklík - Kutlák, Štajnoch, Kukumberg, Šťastný, Netík - T. Mikúš, R. Mráz, Hudáček, Matoušek, Daňo

Slovan started cautiously in their third game of the road trip on Wednesday, not allowing Atlant to get close to Janus early on. Our goalie’s first real save came in the 8^th minute, from Mikhnov’s powerful shot. Vondrka worked around the home defense well, but just lacked decisiveness in finishing. Kadelkin had a clear chance for the home team in the 12^th minute, but Janus was able to hold onto his effort. At the other end, Sigalet’s shot from between the circles suffered a similar fate. Hudáček received an inch-perfect pass late on, but failed to make good contact in front of the empty net.

The second period went particularly well for Slovan. In the 25^th minute, Juraj Mikúš read the play well and was on hand to guide the rebound home – 0:1. After the goal, play passed from end to end. Janus made two miraculous saves from clear-cut chances for Trubachov, and dangerous shots from Netík kept the Atlant goalie on his toes. Janus again intervened brilliantly in the 24^th minute to keep out Engqvist, while Galimov was stretched to the limit to stop Bližňák’s shot.

In the 41^st minute Atlant had a powerplay, but Slovan defended well, stopping the hosts from even creating a chance. Indeed, Slovan defended well throughout the final period, Atlant creating few chances. In the 49^th minute, however, Janus had to commit a foul Koltsov to keep him from scoring. In the resulting penalty shot, our goalie read Kotsov’s intentions perfectly and the score remained 0:1. Janus was in top form, saving from Novopashin late on, and the hosts achieved nothing more after pulling their goalie. Slovan took all three points from Moscow!

Rostislav Čada: “We started the last two games badly, and thanks to that we lost both games. Tonight we managed to fulfil our first goal: to play a good opening period. Throughout the game, the team defended well in center ice and the defensive zone; they didn’t allow our opponents to create  any clear chances. Our goaltender Janus kept it together, and not just by saving the penalty shot.”