Comeback Earns Two Points!

Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 3:4 (SO) - (2:1, 1:1, 0:1, 0:0 - 0:1)

Goals: 7. Maxwell (Kašpar), 10. Pepelyaev, 37. Gusev (Larsen) – 6. Nagy (Starosta), 38. Jeglič (Nagy), 47. Mihálik (Nagy), deciding penalty shot: L.Nagy

Lineups:

Ugra: Biryukov – Larsen, Mamkin, Sergeyev, Zheldakov, Stalnov, Sokolov, Pepelyaev (A), Putilov – Kašpar, Maxwell (A), Gorbunov – Magogin (C), Bulyansky, Gusev – Chibisov, Romantsev, Bortnikov – Korenev, Yatsenko, Tochitsky

HC SLOVAN: Backlund– Sigalet, Štajnoch, Baranka, Sersen, Starosta, Foster - Bartovič, Surový, Netík – Hudáček, Nedorost, Vondrka – Jeglič, Tičar, Nagy – Lunter, Bližňák, Kudrna

Slovan had an early powerplay after Bortnikov tripped Nagy, which produced their first major chance - Vondrka's shot from the left circle hit the post. The first goal came in the 6th minute - Tomáš Starosta got the puck and shot hard from the blue line, and Ladislav Nagy was on-hand to make a decisive touch – 0:1. Kurtis Foster just missed on the break a few seconds later, and Slovan immediately paid the price. In the counter-attack that followed, the home team's most productive player - Maxwell - put the equaliser past Backlund – 1:1. In the 10th minute the scenario repeated itself. While shorthanded, Slovan broke forward two-on-one, but this time Nedorost hit the post. The home team then surged into our zone and a firm shot from Pepelyaev gave Backlund little chance – 2:1. The first period could have ended even worse for Slovan, but the hosts failed to score despite a 90-second five-on-three powerplay.

Ugra defended carefully in the second period, keeping Slovan from scoring opportunities. Netík did send off a testing shot from the blue line in the 24th minute, but Biryukov was equal to it. Ugra had a number of dangerous shots themselves during a powerplay, while Vondrka sent off another rocket at Biryukov, but the shot went just wide. The Slovan defence had to be on guard in another powerplay, and Backlund's pad kept out Magogin. But he could do nothing about Guzev's shot, which gave Ugra a two-goal cushion – 3:1. Still, the deficit was reduced just a minute later as Žiga Jeglič slapped home from Nagy's pass - 3:2.

A Slovan powerplay early in the third period could have brought about the equaliser, but Starosta's heavy shot didn't find its way home. Backlund was made to sweat during Ugra's powerplay minutes later, but he pulled off a fine save to deny Guzev his second goal. The Slovan equaliser finally came in the 47th minute, when Ladislav Nagy expertly shepherded the puck into the zone and his pass back found Mihálik, who shot through everything - 3:3. The Sky Blues dominated the latter stages, but no more goals came, and the contest went into overtime. In the four-on-four play it was the home side who could have sealed the win, but a fantastic save from Johan Backlund in the 62nd minute ensured the game went to penalty shots.

Ladislav Nagy was the sole scorer in the shoot-out, securing two valuable points for Slovan.

Petri Matikainen: It was a tough contest. We had a slightly worse start to the game. In the first two periods we made plenty of errors, more than in previous games. In the second break, we told the players that we have to play more simply. The third period was the best, the lads played how we wanted them to, and we managed to equalise. We were active, but we couldn't seal it within the regular playing time. Shoot-outs are a lottery, but I'm glad we managed to win it. The victory and the two points are really important for us.