Slovan Records Important Victory!

Atlant Mytishchi – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 1:2 (0:1, 0:0, 1:1)

Goals: 53. Potapov (Chernov) – 2. Nedorost (Baranka, Ružička), 45. Ružička (Sersen, Vondrka)

Lineups:
Atlant: Engren (Shikin)- Korobov, Gilroy, Engqvist, Potapov, Černov- Novopašin, Nemec, Vrana, Taratukhin, Tyulyapkin, Dyblenko, Kozlov, Koltsov, Yashin- Baldayev, Shiafotdinov, Levitsky, Soshnikov.
HC SLOVAN: Backlund (Janus)- Sersen, Mihálik, Nagy, Jeglič, Tičar- Brejčák, Baranka, Netík, Nedorost, Ružička- Štajnoch, Sigalet, Bartovič, Surový, Vondrka- Luža, Rachunek, Bližňák, Lunter.

Slovan bore the pressure from the home team early on, and immediately struck. After Baranka's shot, they swept into the attacking zone, and Ružička's effort had Engren stretching, but he couldn't reach Nedorost's follow up - 0:1. Matikainen's forces defended well after the goal, Backlund only called upon once to deny Engqvist. The visitors could have doubled their lead, as promising chances fell to Nagy, Netík and Ružička, the latter in a powerplay after a careless challenge on our most prolific player, Ladislav Nagy. The Swede Engqvist carved out another good chance in the 12th minute, but his bullet shot was mercifully off target. Four minutes from the first siren, a number of errors by the Slovan backs would have proved costly but for Backlund, who saved their blushes.

The second act began with a brutal effort from Michal Vondrka, saved by the blocker, but there followed testing times for Slovan. The Sky Blues handled them with aplomb, first defending shorthanded after Nagy's trip, and then again after Nedorost's foul, during which Backlund pulled off expert saves. Rok Tičar then had a turn at threatening Engren, but his shot found the pad. A third powerplay for the home team also proved fruitless, Vondrka sitting out the full two minutes for tripping. At the end of the period, the trio of Jeglič, Tičar and Nagy impressed, the last-named shooting hard and low, but at Engren. Our goalie stood firm at the other end too, extinguishing a late firestorm from the hosts.

The Swedish netminder kept Slovan ahead again at the start of the third period. The visitors then played 25 seconds of five-on-three powerplay which, as sometimes happens, didn't come to fruition until the advantage was just one man - Štefan Ružička opened his Slovan goalscoring account with a low shot aided by Sersen's cloaking activities in front of goal - 0:2. After his goal, Ružička had a taste for it, brilliantly finding Vondrka in another powerplay, but the shot smacked the post. Atlant then spurned a major chance in a powerplay of their own - Gilroy was between the circles, but allowed Backlund to close him down. Slovan played 21 seconds shorthanded five-on-three, and in familiar fashion, Potapov reduced the deficit when Slovan already had four - 1:2. Matikainen's man endured heavy pressure from Atlant in the closing stages, as Surový's infringement enabled the hosts to pull the goalie and play six-on-four. But the visitors held on to secure three valuable points.

Petri Matikainen: An important three points, an important victory. It wasn't a pretty game from our point of view, it was clear that some players had heavby legs; the home team appeared fresher. Today we managed to convert chances into two goals, which proved decisive. I have to highlight our shorthanded play, and we're pleased with the powerplay goal too. Our goalie Johan Backlund performed superlatively; he kept us ahead on numerous occasions. We're really glad to be taking three points from Moscow!