Slovan Draws Short Straw in Shootout

Dinamo Riga – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 1:0sn (0:0. 0:0, 0:0, 0:0 - 1:0)

Goals: Deciding penalty shot - Videll

Lineups:
Dinamo Riga: Sedláček (Deslauriers) – Redlihs, Cibulskis, Genoway, Jurčina, Sotnieks, Jerofejevs, Augstkalns – Darzins, M. Redlihs, Videll – Wilson, Hossa, Mejja – Dzerins, Indrashis, Bukarts – Skvorcovs, Cipulis, Bichevskis.
HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Backlund (Janus) – Mihálik, Sersen, Nagy, Surový, Bartovič  – Baranka, Brejčák, Ružička, Nedorost, Netík – Sigalet, Štajnoch, Vondrka,Tičar, Jeglič – Luža, Lunter, Bližňák, Rachůnek

HC Slovan met Riga, direct rivals in the race for the West Conference playoffs, met for the last time this season, and the game started off even. An early powerplay to the home could have got them started, but instead it was Slovan who created a big chance while shorthanded. Vondrka combined with star forward Nagy, whose slapshot hit the bar. Dinamo then played a short five-on-three powerplay, which failed to create chances, but Backlund was called into action against the Riga first line when Slovan were one man down. Another home powerplay, this time from Lunter's foul, saw Videll and Mejja in place to score, but Backlund amazed with his brilliance. Right at the end of the powerplay, Bartovič broke away, but his shot found Sedláček's mitt. Two minutes from the end it was Backlund again, catching superbly from Mejja.

The middle period started in much the same way as the first. Both teams defended their blue line well, and the forwards struggled to make a mark. In the 25th minute, Sedláček was shook by a couple of bombs from Baranka and Bagy, but the scorekeepers remained untroubled. A minute later, Slovan finally played their first powerplay, but failed to create pressure. For the next few minutes, the home side became a real handful, and Backlund really had his hands full. Štefan Ružička had a promising chance of his own, but his effort found Sedláček well-prepared, while at the other end, Bukarts found Backlund's mood hadn't changed.

Slovan began the third period with a 90-second powerplay, the moment of note a hard shot from Michal Sersen. Štefan Ružička was also bursting with energy, but his shot couldn't find a way through Sedláček's gear. In the 46th minute Lauris Darzins found himself all alone in front of goal, but mercifully shot wide, to Slovan's collective relief. The visitors then had their second powerplay of the period, but it did not come off at all. In the 53rd minute, Dinamo's Slovak forward Marcel Hossa found space expertly, but Nagy raised his stick just before the shot. The closing minutes remained goalless, and the game went into overtime.

Within a minute, Milan Jurčina was in the sin bin, which Baranka could have punished but hit the post, while Sedláček came out to block Rok Tičar's shot. 20 seconds from the end, it was Slovan's turn to be saved by the metalwork, as Backlund squeezed the puck against the left post. So the game moved on to penalty shots, where Linus Videll was the only striker on target.

Petri Matikainen: It was a tough night for use, we knew about Riga's quality, which had won them their last two games. We didn't play how we intended, especially in the first two periods. In the third period, there was a certain improvement, unfortunately we couldn't score in regular playing time, nor in overtime where we had the advantage of a powerplay. The goaltenders had a lot to say for the goalless scoreline; both performed excellently. In the end a single goal in the shootout decided it.