RAHL1 – Round 7: Ducks turn 0:3 into 5:4, hat-tricks for Opath and Griglák, Wild Thing Karaoke still perfect

The biggest turnaround of round seven came right in the opening game. Black Jokers led AHC Pezinok Ducks 3:0 after twelve minutes – Marko Šotek scored on the power play, and Lukáš Urban and Nikolas Ketner added goals. The Ducks pulled one back before the break through Tibor Nahalka and then scored four goals in a row in the second half. Rado Kolibas made it 3:2 right at its start, and then came the Lukáš Opath show: he equalised in the 28th minute, put the Ducks ahead 3:4 in the 34th and added the visitors' fifth goal three minutes from time. Black Jokers pulled one back four seconds before the end through Ketner, but it was not enough to draw level. The Ducks won 5:4 and ended a four-game losing streak; Opath finished with 3+1.

Uličníci stormed into their game against AHS like lightning. Tomáš Griglák scored after just 21 seconds, and 68 seconds later Luan Mehmeti made it 0:2. AHS, however, fought back – Róbert Dobrý scored both home goals and levelled at 2:2 in the 27th minute. The last ten minutes decided it: Peter Šulc put Uličníci back in front in the 30th minute and Griglák added two more goals, so the game ended 2:5. Griglák finished with 3+1, Dominik Vaniak assisted on four goals and Šulc had 1+2.

Wild Thing Karaoke returned from their bye with a 3:0 win over Neanderthals and remain the only team in the league that has not dropped a point – six games, six wins. Neanderthals held out for a quarter of an hour before Marián Horváth opened the scoring. In the second half Miroslav Merschitz added two goals and finished with 2+1, and Marcel Ulehla assisted on two goals. Goaltender Tomáš Pék posted his second shutout of the season.

The top game of the round between Wild Hogs and HK Petržalka had two faces. The first half was even: Tomáš Nekoranec opened the scoring and later equalised at 2:2, while Jakub Valovič and Marek Hronec on the power play scored for Petržalka. After the break only Petržalka played – Štefan Pillar, Jozef Krafčák, Patrik Hubek on the power play and Hronec again scored four unanswered goals, and the defending champions won 6:2. Hronec finished with 2+1, Hubek with 1+2. Vladimír Hegely assisted on both Wild Hogs goals. Mad Vipers had a bye this round.

Black Jokers – Wild Thing Karaoke (round 5). Photo: RAHL

How the table developed. Wild Thing Karaoke have been top since round one and after round seven have 12 points from six games with a goal difference of 26:7. HK Petržalka are second with 10 points from the same number of games. Since losing to the leaders in round 2 they have won four in a row with a combined score of 29:5, and with 33 goals they have the best attack in the competition. The two teams also have by far the best defences: Wild Thing Karaoke have conceded seven goals, Petržalka nine.

Third are Uličníci with eight points; they recovered quickly from their heavy defeat to Petržalka and moved up from sixth to third. Behind them are three teams on six points. Black Jokers have scored 32 goals, a total only Petržalka has beaten, but they have already played seven games, one more than most of the league, and lost four of them. AHS slipped from fourth to fifth and Wild Hogs, after their second defeat of the season, from fifth to sixth.

AHC Pezinok Ducks won for the first time since round 2 and in seventh place are now just one point behind Wild Hogs. They still have the weakest defence in the league (39 goals conceded), but with 29 goals scored also the third-best attack. Mad Vipers had a bye and are eighth with three points. Neanderthals lost their sixth game as well and have scored only two goals this season.

AHS – Mad Vipers (round 5). Photo: RAHL

Round highlights. 27 goals were scored, almost seven per game on average. Two games were decided by a second-half comeback: the Ducks turned around a 1:3 first-half deficit, Petržalka a 2:2 draw.

Tomáš Griglák's goal after 21 seconds was the fastest goal of the RAHL1 season. The previous record was Denis Buček's goal for AHS in the 38th second of a round 5 game. Lukáš Opath and Griglák scored hat-tricks, bringing the season's total to nine. It is Opath's second – he scored his first against Uličníci in round 5 – and with eight goals in three games he has drawn level with Ľubomír Patlevič at the top of the scoring chart.

Dominik Vaniak assisted on four Uličníci goals. Patrik Hubek also had as many assists in a single game this season; only Alex Ftáčnik has had more, with five assists against Neanderthals in round 3. HK Petržalka had the most penalties of the round (four), while Wild Thing Karaoke and AHS received none.

The points standings are still led by Vladimír Hegely of Wild Hogs with 15 points (6+9). Second is Tomáš Griglák of Uličníci with 13 points (6+7) and third Patrik Hubek of HK Petržalka with 12 points (3+9). On 11 points are Lukáš Opath of AHC Pezinok Ducks and Ľubomír Patlevič of HK Petržalka, both with 8+3 and also the competition's top goal scorers, and Marián Horváth of Wild Thing Karaoke (3+8). Stano Bročko and Alex Ftáčnik of Black Jokers and Matúš Mucha and Tomáš Nekoranec of Wild Hogs have ten points each.

Round 8 – Saturday 24 October:
8:30 Mad Vipers – Neanderthals
9:45 HK Petržalka – AHS
11:00 Wild Thing Karaoke – Wild Hogs
12:15 Uličníci – Black Jokers

This time AHC Pezinok Ducks have the bye. The leaders host Wild Hogs with the league's most productive player, Petržalka face AHS, and Uličníci can strengthen their hold on third place against Black Jokers. Mad Vipers and Neanderthals meet in a battle between the bottom two teams in the table.