AWAY TRIP STARTS WITH WIN OVER UGRA!

Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk - HC SLOVAN Bratislava 0:1 (SO) - (0:0, 0:0, 0:0 - 0:0, 0:1)

Goals: 65. Netík (deciding penalty shot)

Complete statistics HERE.

Lineups:
Ugra: Kuznetsov – Khvostov, Shefer, Trončinský, Starosta (A), Pepelyaev (A), Sokolov, Dyakov, Petrov – Sitnikov (C), Zhukov, Bulyansky – Savinainen, Dixon, Smoleňák – Khlyntsev, Krysanov, Knyazev – Gorbunov, Yatsenko, Plotnikov
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Janus – Sersen (A), Škoula, Kutlák, Sigalet, Mojžíš, Štajnoch, T. Mikúš, Matoušek – Bartovič (C), J. Mikúš, Netík – Vondrka, Bližňák (A), Miklík – Kukumberg, Ölvecký, Hudáček – Bakoš, Šťastný, Daňo 

Both teams started their second head-to-head meeting cautiously, neither goalie called into action in the opening five minutes. Janus finally had to be on guard in the 8^th, but Bulyansky missed out from up close. Slovan’s third line attack threatened the Ugra net when Hudáček shot from behind the defense and Ölvecký’s effort from the resulting bully challenged Kuznetsov. The home side then missed a big opportunity in the 14^th, Dixon failing to find the open net.

Ugra started the second period with most of the play, often advancing into the attacking zone. But the Sky Blues defense was excellent in keeping the opposition from shooting, meaning Janus was not kept too busy. In the 29^th minute, a bad pass left Knyazev alone in front of the Slovan goal, but Janus managed to keep him out. The close call seemed to wake Slovan up, and they were the better team for the rest of the period. Towards the end chances fell to Hudáček, Miklík and Juraj Mikúš, but the game remained goalless.

Knyazev came close again in the 41st minute, but his shot hit Janus’s shoulder. Four minutes later Miklík’s effort went just wide of the Ugra net after Bližňák had won the bully. The home team’s first line came closest to scoring, a number of shots, even with a bit of luck mixed in, not finding their way past Janus. In the 53^rd minute Šťastný shot wide and play went up the other end, where Janus had to save a shot from Yatsenko. Regular time finished scoreless, so we headed to overtime.

Right at the start, Vondrka blew past the Ugra defense, but his backhand feint, and Miklík’s follow up, were saved by Kuznetsov. Sitnik and Zhukov couldn’t find the net for the home side either, so – not for the first time – a shootout decided the outcome.

Just like in the home leg, it was Tomáš Netík who decided the game in Slovan’s favour. Jaroslav Janus also deserves praise for keeping a clean sheet for the whole match.

Rostislav Čada:    “We’ve seen a hard-fought game with excellent defensive play from both sides. There weren’t many shooting opportunities in the game, but both teams had chances to settle it in regular time, and in overtime. We were luckier and more efficient in the penalty shots, so we took the two points.”