SLOVAN COMES CLOSE AGAINST HIGH-FLYING SKA

HC SLOVAN Bratislava - SKA St. Petersburg 2:3 (SO)  (1:1, 1:1, 0:0 - 0:0, 0:1) 

Goals: 6. A. Šťastný (Štajnoch, Mojžíš), 29. Bližňák (Vondrka, Miklík) - 3. Panarin (Kucheryavenko), 38. I. Makarov (Kucheryavenko), deciding penalty shot: Červenka 
Penalties: 3:3 (2 min.) + Panarin (St Petersburg) - 10 min (unsportsmanlike conduct). Powerplay and Shorthanded Goals: 0:0. Officials: Belov, Kiselyov - Gordenko, Tomilov (all RUS). Attendance: 10,055.

Lineups: 
HC SLOVAN Janus - Sigalet, Sersen, V. Mihálik, Škoula, Štajnoch, Mojžíš - Miklík, Bližňák, Vondrka - Netík, Ölvecký, Bartovič - Šatan, Radivojevič, L. Hudáček - Matoušek, A. Šťastný, M. Daňo 
St. Petersburg: Ezhov - Kuteikin, D. Kalinin, Ryasensky, Semionov, Alexandrov, Dallman, Judin - Červenka, V. Tikhonov, Skachkov - Ketov, Shipachyov, Kovalchuk - Ponikarovsky, Kucheryavenko, Panarin - I. Makarov, Sigaryov, Burdasov

The sell-out crowd was vocal from the start – due in part to the return of Šatan, no doubt – but visitors SKA started positively and carved out a lead as early as the 3^rd minute. From behind the net, Kucheryavenko found Panarin, and Janus had no chance – 0:1. At the other end, Netík picked up the puck, only to put his shot wide. When Šťastný broke away dangerously in the 6^th, his backhand did for defenseman Kalinin, and his shot – as he fell – was a beauty – 1:1. The visitors still had most of the play; Janus certainly couldn’t complain for lack of work. Netík again had a chance in the 13^th minute, but this Ezhov made the save.

Bližňák could have put the hosts ahead early in the second period, but his touch from Miklík’s pass was cut out by Ezhov. Two minutes later, Janus made a crucial interventions to keep out Alexandrov, and Tikhonov from behind the net. When defenseman Dallman missed out from between the circles, Slovan moved the puck up the ice and took the lead – two-on-one, Bližňák put in Vondrka, his shot hit Ezhov and fell perfectly for Bližňák to tap into the empty net – 2:1. The goal brought Slovan to life, shots from Netík and Matoušek forcing the SKA goalie to make saves. Four-on-four play in the 33^rd minute saw Ezhov shine again, saving Škoula’s shots from the blue line and between the circles. Makarov secured the equalized in the 38^th, receiving the puck right in front of Janus and scoring at the second attempt – 2:2.

Červenka threatened at the start of the third period, as St. Petersburg began to exert pressure on their hosts. But Janus repelled all the SKA could throw at him, crucially handling Shipachyov’s breakaway in the 53^rd minute. A scoreless final period took the game into overtime. Kalinin’s foul on Bartovič in front of goal gave him a penalty shot, but this time the captain didn’t convert. When Janus made an outstanding catch off Panarin’s shot destined for the top corner, a shootout beckoned. Only Červenka converted his penalty shot, leaving Slovan with one point from the encounter.