SLOVAN OUTCLASSED IN ASTANA

Barys Astana – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 6:1 (2:1, 2:0, 2:0)

Goals: 8. Rudenko (Starchenko), 15. Upper (Litvinenko), 27. Lundin, 34. Boyd (Dawes), 54. Dawes (Barker), 57. Dawes (Bochenski) – 7. Miklík (Sersen)

Complete statistics HERE.

Lineups:
Barys Astana: Ahonen – Savchenko, Litvinenko, Semyonov, Barker, Lundin, Blokhin – Rudenko, Starchenko, Antropov – Zhailauov, Upper, Pushkaryov – Dawes, Bochenski, Boyd – Gavrilin, Rakhmanov, Romanov
HC SLOVAN: Kopřiva – Sersen, Škoula, Vondrka, J. Mikúš, Miklík – Mihálik, Sigalet, Bartovič, Bližňák, Netík – Kutlák, Brejčák, Hudáček, Kukumberg, Radivojevič – T. Mikúš, Daňo, Ölvecký, Šťastný, Matoušek

Following their heavy defeat on Sunday, Slovan started positively, Ahonen being tested early by Bartovič and Hudáček. The strong start bore fruit in the 7^th minute, Čada’s charges taking the lead when Sersen provided and Miklík duly obliged – 0:1. Alas, any celebrations were short-lived, as Starchenko picked out the open Rudenko from behind the net, the latter converting - 1:1. Kopřiva was equal to the next chance, keeping out Starchenko’s shot with his shoulder. Matoušek came close at the other end, but the defense intervened at the last moment. Barys took the lead in the 15th minute, a lucky rebound falling to Upper – 2:1.

Vondrka was missing from the second period onwards, having taken a major hit on the boards from a home player. In the 22nd minute, Hudáček picked out Radivojevič, but his low shot couldn’t find a way into the net. Soon after, the left post saved Slovan, but Lundin soon established a two-goal advantage, his precise strike finding the net in the 27^th – 3:1. Astana then turned on the style, while Slovan barely had a chance. A one-touch Bochenski – Dawes – Boyd powerplay combination in the 54^th resulted in a fourth for the home team – 4:1.

Netík started the third period with a promising shot, but Slovan could not find the net, even in a powerplay that followed, thanks to netminder Ahonen. Astana defended watchfully, allowing our players to shoot only from distance. Kopřiva kept out Boyd in the 48^th, and Barys failed even to convert when three-on-one. But Dawes’s shot into the top corner extended the lead in the 54^th, and the Canadian added a second a few minutes later to cap off a convincing 6:1 victory for the home side.

Rostislav Čada: “We started the game really well and took the lead pretty quickly. But individual errors allowed the opposition to get back into the game and take the lead. The main problem was the frequent penalties, which cost us three goals. The outcome was also affected by the injuries to Michal Vondrka and Juraj Mikúš.”