Fantastic First Period Sets the Tone!

HC SLOVAN Bratislava - Dinamo Riga 5:1 (4:0, 0:1, 1:0) 

Goals: 4. Jeglič (Tičar, L. Hudáček), 4. Vondrka (Murley, L. Nagy), 16. Vondrka (Murley), 18. Murley (L. Nagy), 56. L. Hudáček (Tičar, Jeglič) - 40. Videll (Darzins, M. Redlihs) Penalties: 7:2 (2 min.), Powerplay goals: 1:0, Shorthanded: 1:0. Officials: Komarov, Safiullov - Parfionov, Sysuyev (all RUS). Attendance: 8,611.

Lineups:
HC SLOVAN: Janus - Sersen, Baranka, Sigalet, Štajnoch, Starosta, J. Brejčák - L. Nagy, Murley, Vondrka - Netík, Surový, Bartovič - Jeglič, Tičar, L. Hudáček - Ölvecký, A. Šťastný, Lunter 
Riga: Sedláček (21. Masalskis) - K. Redlihs, Cibulskis, Genoway, Pujacs, Jurčina, Sotnieks (30 min. Augstkalns) - M. Redlihs, Videll, Darzins - Skvorcovs, Schastlivy, Marcel Hossa - Indrasis, Bicevskis, Meija - Cipulis, Upitis, Bukarts 

Slovan put in one of their finest single-period performances on Wednesday. It all began with strong shorthanded play during Starosta's penalty, and then Petri Matikainen's forces started a scoring whirlwind. The first came in the 4th minute, when perfect teamwork between Tičar and Hudáček enabled Jeglič to fire into the open net - 1:0. A mere eight seconds later, Vondrka's precise finish added another, finding the gap between goaltender Sedláček and the post - 2:0. In the 16th minute it was Vondrka again, this time sending the rebound from Murley's shot goalwards - 3:0. Murley then turned scorer in the 19th minute, finishing off a shorthanded break with Nagy 4:0. 

Masalskis replaced Sedláček in the Riga net from the second period, but only faced five shots from the home side over the twenty minutes. Janus, on the other hand, could hardly complain for a lack of work. He successfully faced up to what the visitors could throw at him until the final minute, when Videll's simple shot from the left circle found the net - 4:1. 

In the final period, the hosts first had to defend three Riga powerplays, including a brief, 16-second five-on-three advantage. Marcel Hossa made several attempts to bring the visitors back into the game, but all in vain, and Janus pulled off a fine catch to deny Darzins at point blank range. The final score was determined in the 56th minute, when Hudáček finished off the pairwork of Slovenes Tičar and Jeglič - 5:1.
 
Petri Matikainen: "We knew Dinamo had played a good game in Helsinki. We prepared carefully for today's contest. We started at a good tempo, our play was effective, and our passing was accurate. I'm satisfied with the first period, but the second was totally different. That's a big lesson for us - we played it really poorly. We were passive, waiting for the opposition to come at us, and we gave up a goal in the closing seconds, which could have led to something more. We approached the final period with concentration - we used the puck well when we had it. It was maybe a good thing we played those three penalties, because they pulled us back into the game. I'm very pleased with the victory, it was a good evening of hockey. But a lot of hard work awaits us; we have to be patient."