The hockey players of Spišská Nová Ves confirmed the advantage of the home environment and after winning Sunday’s match of the 12th round of the Tipos extraliga over Banská Bystrica 5:1, they are still in first place in the table.
The Spichiacs were the first to achieve 10 victories in the season, against the “Rams” they were drawn mainly by forwards Zack Andrusiak and Stephen Harper, who scored 2 goals each. Spišiaci used up to 4 power plays in the match. Andrusiak is the competition’s leading scorer and most productive player with 13 goals and 21 Canadian points.
The Nový Zámkov players also scored a full point gain on home ice, ending a streak of seven games without a point by winning over Slovan Bratislava 2:0. It was the first game of the season without a goal scored for the guests. Defensive player Kalle Maalahti scored a precise shot, which ultimately turned out to be the winner, in the 4th minute, for whom it was the first extra-league goal in the second match. Goalkeeper Jason Grande picked up the first clean sheet in the highest Slovak competition. The players from Novosám have already started with the defender Shawn Lalonde and the forward Roman Karaff, whom they acquired on loan from HC Košice. Forward Austin Ortega wore Slovan’s jersey for the first time, on the other hand, due to injury, they were missing defender Sena Acolatse, who should be absent for 6-8 weeks.
The players of HC Košice jumped to second place behind Spišská Nová Ves. In the highlight of Sunday’s program, HK Dukla Michalovce won 4:2 on the ice. Michalovce lost two games in a row for the first time in the season, losing 1:5 to home team Spišiak on Friday. After a 3-match absence, captain Michal Chovan returned to the “steel” team and participated in the victory with two goals and an assist. The team from Košice started with the latest acquisition, Olivier Archambault, who assisted the visitors’ first goal in his “Košice” debut.
The hockey players of Dukla Trenčín played in Nitra for the first time under the leadership of Pavel Mihálik, who should lead the team temporarily after the dismissal of the head coach Ernest Bokroš. On the ice of the champion, they managed to end the series of three losses, but they are still tied with Liptovský Mikuláš and Nový Zámky at the bottom of the table. Goalkeeper Erik Šebo started again in the Nitra jersey, as the stable goalkeeping pair Libor Kašík and Sami Aittokallio have health problems.
HK Poprad goalkeeper Adam Vay kept a clean sheet for the second time this season, helping Zvolen win 2:0. The home team did not follow up on 3 consecutive victories and after seven goals in Friday’s match with Žilina (7:2) they failed to score. “Kamzíci” won already in the eighth match in a row.
The players of Liptovský Mikuláš also enjoyed the valuable two points, who lost 0:2 after two periods at home against the newcomers of the competition, Žilina. Even in the 57th minute, the score was 1:3, but goals by Max Gerlach and Daniel Tkáč pushed the match into overtime. Liptáci completed the turnaround in separate raids in which Daniel Tkáč, Martin Réway and Brendan Ranford scored the winning goal. This was his debut in the Lipták jersey. It was the second victory in a row for Liptovský Mikuláš, Žilina lost the last 3 duels.
