Slovan Wins After Late Drama!

HC SLOVAN Bratislava - Salavat Yulaev Ufa 3:2 (SO) - (0:1, 1:0, 1:1 - 0:0, 1:0)

Goals: 26. Nedorost (Bartovič), 58. Štajnoch (Tičar, Hudáček), deciding penalty shot: Netík - 7. Heikkinen, 52. Tolpeko (Heikkinen, Hartikainen). Officials: Deyev, Soin - Misyur, Raming.

Penalties: 2:2 (2 min.), + Brejčák - Kutuzov, both 5 min. + game misconduct (roughing), Powerplay goals: 0:0, Shorthanded: 0:0. Attendance: 8,739.

HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Janus - Štajnoch, Starosta, Brejčák, Baranka, Luža, Sigalet - Netík, Tičar, Jeglič - Bartovič, Nedorost, Vondrka - Ölvecký, Murley, Hudáček - Kudrna, Surový, Šťastný

Salavat Yulaev Ufa: Sokhatsky – Heikkinen, Kulda, Kutuzov, Lekomtsev, Zubarev, Koltsov, Vasilevsky – Hartikainen, Siomin, Tolpeko – Golovanov, Khlystov, Dubrovsky – Skachkov, Kaigorodov, Pihlström – Stepanov, Glukhov, Slepyshev

The visitors were the more active early on, though it was the home side who had the best scoring chance. Netík skated into the left circle and let fly, but Sokhatsky was on guard. In the 6th minute, Štajnoch was unlucky to deflect Pihlström's shot towards his own net, but Janus reacted brilliantly and made the catch. A minute later, however, he was beaten. Jeglič lost the puck in his own zone, Heikkinen pounced on it, skated between the circles and beat Janus with a precise finish - 0:1. The goal spurred Ufa on, and in the following minutes they created further chances. First, in the 9th minute, Stepanov hit the post, then another surrendered puck allowed the visitors to advance 3-on-2, but Janus kept out Tolpeko's shot with the blocker. The home goalie proved his mettle again in the 12th, stopping a fine Slepyshev shot with the mitt. Slovan found themselves unable to escape the pressure, heightened by Štajnoch's penalty for high sticking, and the Sky Blues' defence faced a number of testing moments. The Ufa front lines pressed into the attacking zone, and could have scored a second. Koltsov and Pihlström found themselves in the clear, the latter finishing well, but Janus managed to get across, once again saving his comrades. The home defence continued to feel the hear, but Janus kept them in the game, saving a dead cert from Chlystov and stopping Philström's advance. Slovan created precious few chances of their own, shooting only five times to the visitors' twelve.

The opening sallies of the second period belonged to the home team, who set up shop in their opponents' third, but Ufa kept them away from shooting positions, leaving Sokhatsky with little to do. Slovan made their mark in the 26th, as the goaltender could only parry Bartovič's shot, allowing Nedorost to clean up - 1:1. The goal brought the hosts to life - Ölvecký shot well soon after, and another chance could have seen Slovan take the lead. Netík and Tičar bore down on goal, but Netík held onto the puck, and his effort didn't come off - from a golden oportunity came nothing. Both teams then began to exercise more caution, making sure the back door was kept shut, so chances reduced to a minimum. Much of the play took place on centre ice and by the boards. In the 35th minute Stepanov was penalised, and Slovan played the powerplay well, Baranka, Vondrka and Nedorost all shooting from good positions, but the second goal refused to come. Sokhatsky pulled off a fine save late in the period to deny Bartovič, so scores remained level at the siren.

In the 44th minute, the hosts had another fine chance to tilt the duel in their favour, but the third line attack just couldn't force the puck past the prostrate goalie even at the third time of asking. At the other end, Skachkov threatened, but Janus guarded his right post like a hawk. In the period that followed, played moved from end to end; in the 49th, the home team got through 2-on-1, but Murley opted to shoot instead of playing in Hudáček, and it didn't pay off. Instead, it was the vistors who took the lead again, with eight minutes left. Playing 4-on-4, it was Tolpeko who hit the target - 1:2. A fight then erupted five minutes from time, which sent Brejčák and Kutuzov to an early bath. Two minutes from time, a nice combination played in Štajnoch, and he finished with a fine shimmy to force the game into overtime. After a number of unsuccessful penalty shots, it was Netík who finally netted the winner, giving Slovan the two points.