BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia – HC ‘05 Banska Bystrica is the new champion of Slovakia. The team based in the centre of the country won the title for the first time in history but their road to success was very hard.

“You must have a lot of luck and we had it, but without that it is impossible. This team has power, character, great leaders and amazing fans. We believed that we could accomplish our goal this time,” said Banska Bystrica coach and former NHL player Vladimir Orszagh.

And he exactly knew why he said that. Banska Bystrica participated in the Extraliga final for the third time in a row, but only this time they finished top. Banska Bystrica has been the favourite of the league. After the regular season they clinched first place and entered the playoffs as top-seeded team.

In the first round they beat HC Nove Zamky 4-1 in the series and scored 27 goals in five game. In the next round against Martin Banska Bystrica recorded 25 goals and won the series 4-1 as well. The final series against Nitra was a big challenge for coach Orszahg after the history of lost finals.

This time though it started better for the players from the Banska Bystrica as they won the first game 4-1. It looked like everything would go well for them, but the second game brought victory for the defending champion Nitra, 4-3.

“We got into the game with great activity and enthusiasm. We had many shots and chances. We deserved at least one win in Banska Bystrica,” said Nitra coach Andrej Kmec. So, after the first two games the players of the defending champion were in a good position. The series moved to Nitra and the home crowd was hoping for other victories.

Nitra started their initial home game like everyone wanted. Although they were back from the 11th minute, they managed to score the two goals with five minutes to go in the game and were leading 2-1. But Pavol Skalicky tied the game. Everyone was waiting for the extra time but 21 seconds before the end Brock Higgins shocked Nitra with the game-winning goal for Banska Bystrica.

“It was a great victory,” said Banska Bystrica defenceman Michal Sersen after the game. “In the end we were luckier and I am very happy we earned another win. We made one more step, but it's not over yet.”

After this win the Nitra players knew they had to win at least their second home game of the final series, otherwise they would end up losing the whole series. The game started better for Nitra scoring the first goal after nine minutes. After that no one managed to score and everything looked like Nitra was going to tie the series. But Banska Bystrica came with tying goal with 90 seconds left in regulation time. Everyone was waiting for the overtime again when Tomas Surovy scored another goal with 57 seconds to go to give Banska Bystrica another last-minute victory.

“Same as the game before. You have to play until the last second. We didn't play well from the beginning but we knew Nitra needed the victory. After that we started to come back and in the end we were luckier again,” said Banska Bystrica centre Michal Handzus.

Banska Bystrica needed one more win to become the champion as the series moved to their home ice again and everything was ready for the celebrations in front of a capacity crowd of 2,841 fans. This time they made it clear early and crushed their opponent 6-2. Banska Bystrica won their first title in the history of Slovak hockey and so the ceremony could begin.

“It’s a fantastic feeling. We were standing here as losers a year ago. We now wanted to win it for our fans and we did it. I am very happy for the guys who brought the final road to the winning end,” said coach Orszagh.

“It's a great feeling winning the title at home,” said captan Michal Handzus who was born in Banska Bystrica. “I focused on the game 100%. Only about three minutes before the end I enjoyed the atmosphere. It's big thing for our club and the whole town,” said Handzus, who added Slovak title to Stanley Cup victory from 2010 and gold medal from World Championship in 2002

Liptovsky Mikulas and Trencin secure Extraliga spot

In the play-out the first two teams from the second-tier Slovak league and last two of the Extraliga battled for two spots in the top league. Challengers Detva and Skalica played in the 12-round schedule with Liptovsky Mikulas and Dukla Trencin. For Trencin the play-out was a big disappointment. The club that developed players like Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa and Zdeno Chara wasn’t doing very well and its future remained uncertain until the last day.

Liptovsky Mikulas on the other hand secured the Extraliga spot for the next season early with a 10-2 record while Trencin was fighting to stay in the top league until the last round with a game against Detva. The team needed to win and after the very hard game they got it.

“It was very difficult for us from the mental side. I knew we had a better team, but in hockey everything is possible,” said coach Julius Penzes after the 4-0 win in the last game. “When we started the season with Jan Kobezda behind the bench we had several wins. After that our key players got injured and everything came to an end with Jan's death. These days were very hard for us. Our guys were suffering, it's difficult to explain,” said Penzes, who symbolically put his forefingers in the air to dedicate this win to Jan Kobezda, who served as general manager of the team and took over the duties as head coach during the season before dying of a heart attack in January.

JURAJ HUDAK