SUPER COMEBACK IN ZAGREB!

Medveščak Zagreb – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 3:4pp (1:1, 2:0, 0:2 - 0:1 )

Goals: 5. Vesce (Thomas, Linglet), 36. Švarný, 40. Cheechoo (Willsie) – 16. Kukumberg (Bartovič, Sigalet), 48. Bartovič (J. Mikúš), 56. Netík (Daňo, Ölvecký), 62. Bližňák (Bartovič)

Complete statistics HERE.

Lineups:

Medveščak Záhreb: Dekanich – Katic, Popovic, Foster, Švarný, Letang, Montador – Jessiman, Murray, Walker – Vesce, Thomas, Linglet – Willsie, Murley, Cheechoo – Perkovich, Bjorkstrand, Kane

HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Janus – Škoula, Sersen, Kutlák, Mihálik, Sigalet, Štajnoch, Mráz, Kolena, – Vondrka, Bližňák, Miklík – Kukumberg, Bartovič, Juraj Mikúš – Netík, Daňo, Ölvecký – Tomáš Mikúš, Bakoš, Hudáček

Slovan didn’t start at all badly. The first chance fell to Kutlák, whose shot hit the post. But thunder struck at the other end in the 5^th minute, when Bill Thomas found the impressive Ryan Vesce in front of goal, and the American squeezed the puck past Janus – 1:0. But Slovan continued to play positively despite the goal, both Hudáček and Kolena firing off dangerous shots on goal. Then in the 16^th minute, Bartovič tapped the puck to Kukumberg, whose precise shot beat Dekanich - 1-1.

Right at the start of the second period, Slovan found themselves with a five-on-three powerplay, but failed to capitalize, Vondrka having the best chance. Play then swung from end to end, Kukumberg intervening at the last moment to keep out Montador in the 28^th minute, while Dekanich had to work hard to keep the hosts on level terms during a Slovan powerplay. When Hudáček broke away to face Dekanich one-on-one, the goaltender was once again equal to the task. Towards the end of the period, Slovan took their foot off their gas, allowing Švarný to score in the 37th minute, then Jonathan Cheechoo just a minute later – 3:1.

Cheechoo was again in the action in the 47^th minute, but this time his finish went narrowly over the bar. Just a minute later, Bartovič received the puck between the circles and fired home - 3:2. Slovan then piled on the pressure, Dekanich saving well from Bakoš, but Janus had to be alert as well, with shots coming from Willsie and Murray. With only four minutes left on the clock, Hudáček picked out Netík perfectly, and with the goalie already committed, he couldn’t fail to find the empty net – 3:3. Further chances fell to Hudáček and Bližňák right at the end, but neither was able to find the net, so the game headed to overtime.

The killer blow was struck inside two minutes. Bartovič seized the puck in the defensive zone and sped away up the ice. Dekanich was able to block his shot, but the rebound fell straight to Bližňák, whose first-time shot found the net. Slovan had defeated Medveščak 3:4 in overtime, to the delight of some 500 Slovan fans who made the trip to Zagreb!

Rostislav Čada: I think we’ve seen a fast, combative, aggressive game with good performances from both teams. For a long time we couldn’t convert our chances. We paid a high price for a weak moment in the second period. But through sheer hard work we managed to get back in the game, equalize, and score at the first opportunity in overtime.