BRATISLAVA, September 29 (Xinhua) -- Kosice completely baffled Nitra with five goals in the first period alone and laid a solid foundation for their merciless 9-0 win in Nitra on Sunday to move back up to the first spot in the rankings of the Slovak premier hockey league, Tipsport Liga.
Marcel Hascak finished one of the best nights of his career with four goals and one assist, Michal Chovan assisted on four goals and scored one himself. Nitra switched goalies after the fourth goal, but to no avail. Their third loss in a row sees them plummet down to the 11th position in the league.
The league’s newcomers Michalovce earned their most coveted triumph of the season, defeating the eight-time champions Slovan Bratislava 4-3 in their first televised match ever. Tomas Zigo led the visitors in scoring once again with two goals but failed to prevent Michalovce’s well-earned victory that moves them to the runner-up position in the rankings. Bratislava, meanwhile, slipped to fourth from the top spot.
Last season’s champions Banska Bystrica are back on a winning path after two losses, dominating in Liptovsky Mikulas 5-1. The Canadian-born Jordon Southorn led his team by scoring two goals and adding one assist. The bottom-ranked Liptovsky Mikulas is struggling this season and lost their third in a row.
Nove Zamky won their second match in a row, snapping Budapest’s two-game winning streak 7-4. Both Vaclav Stupka and Tomas Urban scored twice and added an assist against the team from Hungary’s capital.
Detva, occupying the penultimate ranking spot, managed to put an end to Poprad’s two-game winning streak, successfully turning the match around after being down by two goals in the second period. Rastislav Gaspar became the hero of the match, scoring the game-winner only 30 seconds into overtime, 3-2.
After two defeats in a row, Zvolen got back on track thanks to a 6-3 victory over Trencin, snapping the home team’s two-game winning streak. The visitors showed great strength during penalty kills and scored two shorthanded goals.
