HC Košice - HC 05 Banská Bystrica 5:2 (1:0, 1:1, 3:1)

Goals and assistance: 12. Šoltés (Dudáš, Nagy), 39. Kafka (Hovorka, Jenčík), 45. Kafka (Hovorka), 51. Jenčík (Hovorka, Kafka), 58. Jenčík (Hovorka, Kafka) – 40. Bubela (Hohmann, Bartánus), 45. Faille (Ďatelinka, Kubka)

Excluded players: 3:4 for two minutes, power plays: 1:0, penalty kill:  0:0, Referees: D. Konc, J. Konc - Gavalier, Smrek, 4734 visitors

HC Košice: Habal (Lundström) – Šedivý, Dudáš, Bača, Čížek, Pulli, Kessel, Koch, Matejka – Nagy, Boltun, Hričina – Jenčík, Hovorka, Kafka – Klíma, Pacan, Koyš – Šoltés, Suja, Vrábeľ

HC 05 Banská Bystrica: Lassila – Kubka, Ďatelinka, Sedlák, Brejčák, Gélinas, Mihalik, Košecký – Faille, Surový, Brittain – Belluš, Češík, Lamper – Hohmann, Bubela, Bartánus – Gabor, Valent, Andrisík

Both teams entered the game with good defensive performance, so we had to wait for the first serious chance. In the fifth minute, Kubka initiated an interesting attack, however his co-players failed to get the puck to the net. On the other hand, Košice escaped when short-handed, however Lassila covered three shots by Bača. This was not a case at the final power play Šoltés's action, whose shot overcome the goalie and made Košice to lead the match. Less than two minutes to go to the end of the first, Vrábeľ could make it 2:0, but he did not execute on Suja's pass well, so Lassila was able to make a stop smoothly.

The second period of the match was rich in goal chances. Immediately after the 40 seconds of the second, Hovorka ricochet the puck between the circles, luckily for the guests he failed to hit the area of the net. On the other side of the IR (Ice Rink), Belluš accidentally touched the shot of his team-mate and confused Habala. The puck was finally stopped by the rear ice ring board. Then, Patrik Koyš did not score during the imposed penalty shooting. Lassila was not fooled by his body movements. Finally, Košice scored for the second time in the 39th minute, when Kafka was entered to the list of players who scored. Still, it was not the end, one minute and three seconds later Bubela managed to score for the opponents. When they left for the locker rooms the score was 2:1.

Both teams entered the third period carefully, aware of serious trouble that could be caused by another goal. That is why the teams focused on thorough defense activity which led to more frequent interruptions of the game in its beginning. So we had to wait for the real chance until the 45th minute. Unfortunately for the home team, Faille executed on his chance and equalized to 2:2. Nevertheless enjoyment of Banská Bystrica did not last long, in the same minute Kafka added his second goal in the match and brought back the lead to the home team. In the 51st minute, Jenčík increased to 4:2. It was his goal that definitely decided about our victory in the 58th minute.

Milan Jančuška, Košice Coach: “Today's match was full of chances, whether ours or opponents'. We had better and worse parts, where the goalie Habbal was great. The match turnout point was at 2:2, when we managed to score the third goal and we started to lead again. Praise today belongs to the players for their agility and to the fans for their great support.”

Vladimír Országh, Banská Bystrica Coach: “The crucial moment was definitely the third Košice goal. Since this moment we were not able to develop a better chance. Too bad for us, because the start of the match belonged to us and we can be sorry we did not score earlier. The fans experienced an excellent game today.”