wolves Howl Their Way Back to the Top Four

After an eight-year absence,the Žilina hockey team,affectionately known as the “Wolves,” have clawed their way back into the Tipos Extraliga semifinals. Their decisive 7-1 victory over HC Monacobet Banská Bystrica on Tuesday secured a 4-1 series win in the quarter-finals, sending their fans into a frenzy.

Žilina’s journey to the top hasn’t been easy. Their last appearance in the semifinals was in the 2016/17 season, where they finished third. Their only championship title came in the 2005/06 season, a memory the team is eager to recreate.

Avcin’s stellar Performance Fuels Victory

Winger Alexander Avcin emerged as the hero of the match, contributing a goal and a remarkable four assists. His outstanding performance ignited the team and propelled them to a commanding victory.

overcoming Adversity: A Testament to Resilience

The series began with a promising 3-1 home win for Žilina. However, a crushing 8-0 defeat in the second game threatened to derail their momentum. Despite this setback, the Wolves demonstrated remarkable resilience, securing two away victories with scores of 5-2 and 4-3 (after overtime). This tenacity set the stage for their triumphant performance on Tuesday.

From the outset, Žilina seized control of the game. A power play in the fourth minute saw Varga score, assisted by Avcin and Baláž, setting the tone for the evening.Even though Boucher managed to score for bystrica, Žilina responded with two more goals from Varga and Ranford, effectively sealing their victory.

Mucha and Miller added further goals in the third period, solidifying Žilina’s dominant performance.

Poprad Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive with Victory Over Nitra

In another thrilling quarter-final matchup, HK Poprad defeated HK Nitra 2-1, narrowing the series score to 2-3. The next game is scheduled for Thursday, March 27th, at 18:00 in Poprad.

poprad capitalized on Nitra’s defensive lapses early in the game, with Calof scoring within the first three minutes. Nitra responded with a goal from Bajtek, but Poprad regained the lead with a goal from Bracco.

Despite Nitra’s increased pressure in the second and third periods,Poprad’s defense held firm,securing a crucial victory.

Coaches’ Corner: Post-Match Reactions

Here’s what the coaches had to say after the games:

Praise must be directed to the dressing room.Although one gives instructions, but work is on the ice. The guys understood the instructions, after all it is necessary to transfer it to the ice. Maybe more believed in this series of Banská Bystrica,but I believed that we would get the procedure.

Milan Bartovič, coach of Žilina

It is said that the last step is the hardest. We scored the quick goals that kicked us and we did it as we wanted it.They scored a 1: 3 goal, but then two quick goals came to keep us.

Jozef Baláž, striker of Žilina

Home loss, we wanted to manage it and end the series. The series continues. We just scored one goal, we didn’t play any power play, although I think we had more of the game and we were pushing more, but the referees didn’t see any foul.One goal is not enough, it is necessary to go with a little more by the pre -shot space and get more puck ther.

Andrej Kmeč, coach of Nitra

A valuable victory for us. Of course, it was necessary to handle it. the first period was excellent,we set up. It was seen the whole match on the inverter and on the ice of the winning mentality. very crucial detail that we played the whole match five on the ice, which was a very critically important factor for us.

Ján Šimko, coach of Poprad

We imagined it a little differently. We wanted to win this match. Poprad played well, basically didn’t make any mistake, or we didn’t make them to any mistake. That’s probably to us, or we didn’t force them to do some foul.

Branislav Mezei,Nitra player

I am glad that there was no such moment as in Poprad that one minute and 14 seconds,when it was simply necessary,we fired it out. All blocked the shots, hat down in front of the players. I am very pleased with this victory.

Filip Belányi, goalkeeper of Poprad