THREE POINTS IN NOVOKUZNETSK!

Metallurg Novokuznetsk – HC SLOVAN Bratislava 1:3 (0:0, 0:2, 1:1)

Goals: 43. Martynov – 25. Miklík (Vondrka, Ölvecký), 30. J. Mikúš, 60. Miklík (Kutlák)

Complete statistics HERE:

Lineups:

Metallurg Novokuznetsk: Hovinen – Martynov, Giroux, Myantyulya, Chernov, Kapotov, Korabeynikov, Skutar, Kanarsky – Valuisky, Kosourov, McLean – Gimbatov, Vyglazov, Lapenkov – Emelin, Anttila, Nazarov – Akhmetov, Zhafyarov, Kurepanov

HC SLOVAN Bratislava: Kopřiva – Kutlák, Škoula, Mojžíš, Sersen, Sigalet, Mihálik, Mojžíš, Štajnoch, Kudrna – Vondrka, Ölvecký, Miklík – Bartovič, Juraj Mikúš, Netík – Hudáček, Matoušek, Kukumberg – Bakoš, Kolena, Daňo

Inside the first minute Kopřiva was called into action - a defensive error allowed Giroux a shot from between the circles, but the Czech goalie made a courageous save. Miklík created the first Slovan threat in the 3rd minute. In the 9^th minute, a huge chance fell to Lapenkov during a powerplay, but he failed to convert. After another mix-up in defense, Anttila bore down on Kopřiva, but his feint didn’t come off. The forward lost out to Kopřiva again in the 17^th minute, followed by another chance for Lapenkov, who again came away empty-handed. At the end period Vondrka tested Hovinen, but his shot lacked venom.

From the start of the second period, Slovan came at Metallurg, but chances for both Netík and Bakoš came to nothing. The good start was converted into a lead in the 25^th minute. Ölvecký picked out Miklík, who beat Hovinen – 0:1. A second powerplay goal came four minutes later, Juraj Mikúš firing home from the left side 0:2. At the other end, the excellent Kopřiva kept the home side from getting back into the game.

In the 43rd minute the old agage was confirmed: If you don’t score, you concede. When Kukumberg failed to capitalize on a two-on-one break,  a blow was struck at the other end - Martynov’s shot from distance reduced the deficit to 2:1. Novokuznetsk pushed hard for an equalizer in a four-minute powerplay after Vondrka’s foul, but our one-goal advantage remained intact thanks to a great effort from the players. Our strong defensive work then left Metallurg struggling to find a way through. In the 52nd minute, Juraj Mikúš found Bartovič, but he could only find netminder Hovinen. Our first-line attack put together another beautiful combination, with Vondrka‘s finish squeezing through the goalie only to hit the post. Finally, Miklík added Slovan’s third into the empty net right at the end. The 3:1 victory marks Slovan’s first win in regulation time in this KHL campaign.