SLOVAN EARNS THREE POINTS!

HC SLOVAN Bratislava - Avtomobilist Jekaterinburg 3:1 (0:0, 0:1, 3:0) 

Goals: 42. Vondrka (Miklík), 50. A. Šťastný (M. Daňo, M. Bakoš), 60. Bližňák (Miklík, Vondrka) - 22. Malykhin (Viklund, Lazarev) Penalties: 4:5 (2 min.); Powerplay goals: 1:0; Shorthanded: 0:0. Officials: Karabanov, Komarov - Kuchava, Novikov (all RUS). Attendance: 10,055.
Lineups: 
HC SLOVAN: Janus - Škoula, Sersen, Sigalet, Kutlák, Štajnoch, Mojžíš - L. Hudáček, J. Mikúš, Bartovič - Miklík, Bližňák, Vondrka - Netík, Ölvecký, Kukumberg - M. Daňo, A. Šťastný, M. Bakoš 

Avtomobilist: Kovář - Lepistö, Viklund, Megalinsky, A. Antonov, Gusev, Triamkin, Postnikov, Rybnitsky - Lazarev, Malykhin, Chernov - Simakov, Yemeleyev, Demagin - A. Stewart, Lewandowski, Yefimov - Deveaux, Streltsov, Golyshev

With Radivojevič out injured, Friday saw Hudáček start in the first line attack. Once again, Slovan did not start well. Inside two minutes, Malykhin and Yefimov outnumbered the Slovan defense, but Štajnoch intervened at the last moment. The home team were muddled, unable to create anything up front, while the visitors threatened through outnumbering and combination play. In the 8^th minute Megalinsky was denied only by the post, then Chernov shot straight at Janus two minutes later. Yefimov was denied soon after, as was Stewart on the break. Janus was called into action again to keep out Demagin’s shot and Lewandowski’s approach.

Malykhin finally opened the scoring in the 22^nd minute, finishing off a combination between Lazarev and Viklund. Slovan had to wait until the 33^rd minute to create their first genuine chance. The puck fell to Hudáček in the zone but, unable to shoot, he went round the net and fed Ölvecký, whose shot was stopped by Kovář. Antonov tested Janus towards the end of the second period, but the home goalie was equal to the task.

Slovan drew level in the 42^nd minute. Miklík found Vondrka between the circles, and he beat Kovář – 1:1. Three minutes later, Vondrka had the Sky Blues’ go-ahead goal in his grasp, but his finish missed the target. Deveaux missed out at the other end, while Sersen then tested the visiting goalie. In the 50^th minute, Slovan’s fourth line attack led a nice combination – Bakoš to Daňo to Šťastný between the circles, and he made it 2:1. Hudáček could have dealt the killer blow in the 56^th minute, but Kovář dealt with his effort, while Janus had to be alert to keep out both Yefimov and Demagin. Closing out with a powerplay, Bližňák scooped into the empty net for the 3:1 final score.

Rostislav Čada: “We didn’t have a good start to the game, nor the whole first period. That was down to the tough game we played on Wednesday. We lacked movement and lost out in our man-to-man play. Thanks to a great effort, and Jaroslav Janus in goal, we made it through the first period. About half-way through the game we got back into it, and above all in the third period we were able to put pressure on our opponents, create chances, and win the game. Yet again the team displayed great fight and character.”