road trip continues in grand style!

Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 1:3 (0:0, 1:1, 0:2)

Goals: 40. Lazarev (Viklund) – 26. Netík, 53. Bartovič (Tičar), 60. Surový (Netík)

Lineups:
Avtomobilist: Kovář (Lobanov) – Viklund, Lepistö (A), Megalinsky, Metliuk, Triamkin, Antonov, Zhuravlyov, Voropayev – Simakov (C), Lazarev, Petružálek – Golyshev, Krysanov, Bumagin – Yefimov, Yemeleyev (A), Lapenkov – Komarov, Gareyev, Lewandowski
HC SLOVAN: Backlund (Janus) – Baranka, Sersen (A), Sigalet, Starosta, Mihalik, Brejčák, Luža – Vondrka, Nedorost, Nagy (A) – Hudáček, Surový, Netík – Bartovič (C), Tičar, Murley – Ölvecký, White, Jeglič

Slovan had most of the play early on thanks to three penalties against the hosts. In the first powerplay, Nagy and Sersen both fired off dangerous shots, but Kovář kept them out with the help of his defence. Slovan played another power play in the 12th minute but neither five-point Nagy nor Slovene forward Jeglič could find the net. At the other end, Backlund was barely tested at all in the first 10 minutes. In the 13th, however, he blocked a shot off Lazarev, and was lucky Lepistö was unable to get to the follow-up. Kovář was made to sweat when Ölvecký broke away and shot, then Bartovič got through during a penalty kill three minutes from the siren, but could only find the Czech goalie's mitt.

Slovan brought their strong performance into the second period. Within half a minute, our first line was causing the hosts major headaches, but neither Vondrka nor Nagy could force the puck past the prostrate Kovář. The home goalie soon had to pull off a blinding save when another chance fell to Ölvecký, as Čada's charges combined extremely well. Hudáček's pass presented Netík in the 26th minute, but he shot at the goalie's chest. Our Czech forward put it right in a powerplay just a few seconds later, and Slovan took the lead – 0:1. Playing shorthanded in the 34th, it was Johan Backlund's turn to make a miracle save, stopping Petružálek's effort right on the goal line.  Another Slovan powerplay produced some decent chances, but a goal failed to materialise; the lead remained just a single goal. And 39 seconds from the end of the middle period, the hosts punished Baranka's foul thanks to Lazarev's swift finish – 1:1.

Slovan went to the locker room shaken up by the late equalizer, and it showed at the start of the final period. Avtomobilist swept around our zone for ten minutes, and Slovan had their work cut out to keep out a number of promising chances. Two Slovan penalties also played into the hands of the hosts, but a miracle 50th minute save from Backlund truly was taken from the top drawer; Golyšev had already raised his arms to celebrate! The home team continued to attack, but it was Slovan who ended up taking the lead - in the 53rd, Milan Bartovič hammered in a fine shot, leaving Kovář no chance - 1:2. Avtomobilist then failed to produce a significant chance in the closing minutes, while Tomáš Surový added one for Slovan into the empty net right at the end - 1:3.

Rostislav Čada: "We were really active today, which is clear from the number of shots and chances we had. We made a pointless mistake at the end of the second period, and that slowed us down. But in the final period we managed to get back into the game, created a two-on-one chance, and we took it. We controlled the rest of the game through our hard work and discipline."