HC Nové Zámky – HC Košice 0-2 (0-0, 0-1, 0-1)
Goals and assists: 29. Suja (Ignatuškin), 60. Nagy (Suja)
Penalized players: 2-6 for two minutes., also: Koch (KOS - 10 min. for boarding), Hričina (KOS - 10 min. for boarding), power-plays: 0-1, short-handed plays: 0-0, referees: D. Konc, Jonák, Šefčík, Synek
HC Nové Zámky: Košarišťan (Glosár) – Andersons, Kudla, Hain, Henderson, Ordzovenský, Novák, Hatala – Bajtek, Urban, Štrauch – Rogoň, Zbořil, Jurík – Ondrušek, Jakúbek, Nejezchleb – Fábry, Slávik
HC Košice: Habal (Škorvánek) – Šedivý, Pretnar, Dudáš, McDowell, Pulli, Čížek, Koch – Nagy, Brophey, Spilar – Suja, Ignatuškin, Vrábeľ – Šoltés, Galamboš, Netík – Žitný, Klíma, Hričina - Krajňák
Both teams faced the opponent's goalie during the opening seconds of the first period. Bajtek was the first one to fire a shot on goal, but it was saved by Habal without any difficulties. Just a few seconds later Dudáš may have scored on the other side, but neither Košarišťan hesitated at the beginning of the match. After that, the spectators had to wait for a more significant chance until the 7th minute, when Nejezchleb was standing in front of the net, but despite his great position, the goal horn finally didn't blare. At the beginning of the 9th minute, Košice outnumbered Nové Zámky two-on-one. Hričina took the lead in it, but he only managed to hit Košarišťan's right pad. Just a minute later, similar situation occurred on the other side, as Nové Zámky playing shorthanded managed to outnumber Košice. But Habal stood behind the Steelers and saved Jurík's shot on goal. Košarišťan's 16th minute save, when he had to cope up with Netík's shot, was another proof that both goalies were the heroes of the 1st period, as he performed a leg pad save just on time. The opening part of the match didn't bring goals, and the ice was left with 0-0 balance.
Immediate chance of the players from Nové Zámky an the very beginning of the 2nd period really scared Košice's defense. Flying puck was tipped by one of the home players, but Habal shown his reflexes and solved the problem. He found himself facing no less severe situation in the 24th minute, when Zbořil was rushing towards his net. Neither this break brought a precise shot, so it seemed that a no-goal game will keep going on. But the 2nd period finally brought 2 chances of Jakub Suja, and even if he wasn't successful in the 26th minute, finally, in the 29th minute, his shot let the Steelers take the lead. Košarišťan paid a heavy price for the chaotic situation in front of his net that Košarišťan made use of. Since that moment, Nové Zámky did their best to tie the score, but they didn't manage to do that in the middle period. Zbořil and Štrauch fired promising shots on goal, but those were no match for Habal. In addition, the net's construction helped him out with Štrauch's shot. After a no-goal 1st period, we saw a precise 1-0 go-ahead goal of the Steelers.
Košice's lead kicked the home players up to show more aggressive offense in the beginning of the final period, but Košice's defense was watching out. On the contrary, the Steelers themselves got to send some shots on goal. One of them was fired by Koch, but it only hit goalie's mask. Fortunately, it didn't really injure him. At the end of 48th minute Henderson could score, but Hričina rushed out for the puck and helped Habala among the three poles. Strong defense accompanied Košice during the next minutes as well, and the players from Nové Zámky didn't manage to overcome Habal. On the contrary, after the home team pulled their goalie, Nagy increased the score to final 2-0 for Košice. We gained 3 points to the standings.
Milan Jančuška, coach of Nové Zámky: "Obviously, I am not satisfied with the result, but I can't deny that the guys did their best. We couldn't turn our chances into goals, and we definitely did have a lot of chances. But it's difficult to win without goals."
Roman Šimíček, Košice's coach: "We knew this match would be a tough one, so we prepared appropriately. In spite of it, our plan didn't really work. Luckily, our goalie got our backs. We are really happy for the three points."
