RAHL3 – Round 10: Royals take Admirals' first point, HC Lev Senec draw level with Rockets, four shutouts

Round 10 of RAHL3 was played on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November. The eight games produced 38 goals, together with round 4 the lowest total of the season, and four teams kept a clean sheet. Admirals failed to win for the first time, HC Lev Senec drew level on points with Rockets and in the game between Beers and HC Bratislava Black Wings two players scored hat tricks. Round 11 on 14 and 15 November will complete the first half of the regular season.

Admirals – Royals 3:3: the leaders drop their first point

Admirals went into the game with Royals with nine wins from nine games and started the way they are used to. Tomas Kandra opened the scoring in the 2nd minute and Lukáš Látka made it 2:0 in the 9th minute from a pass by Vladan Vrábel. Miroslav Hlubocký pulled one back in the 19th minute, but 43 seconds later Látka, set up by Michal Andel and Patrik Bučič, restored the two-goal lead and Admirals were 3:1 up at the break.

The second half belonged to Royals. Zdeno Mikuláśko made it 3:2 in the 24th minute and Dalibor Durmis equalised at 3:3 in the 33rd minute. Admirals did not score again and finished the game short-handed after a penalty to Tomáš Timko. Látka scored twice, and after ten games Admirals have nine wins, one draw and a goal difference of 55:11. They have conceded six goals in their last two games, compared with only five in the eight games before. Royals picked up a point after their defeat by Rockets and are fourth in group A.

Hockey for all – HC Lev Senec 0:4: Maličký short-handed, Nogely's fourth shutout

The game between two teams separated by a single point in group B was decided by HC Lev Senec in the first half. In the 8th minute two Senec penalties gave Hockey for all a 5-on-3 power play for 44 seconds, but the goal came at the other end: shortly after it ended Michal Maličký scored short-handed from a pass by Martin Stolarik. In the 17th minute Maličký added his second goal, assisted by Miroslav Krivosudsky and Jaro Šuplata. Igor Podmanický made it 0:3 in the 22nd minute and Stolarik completed the 0:4 win in the 37th minute.

Adrián Nogely kept his fourth clean sheet of the season in the Senec goal and has conceded six goals in nine games. Senec have won six games in a row, are unbeaten in nine rounds and, with eight goals conceded in ten games, have the best defence in the league. Hockey for all failed to score for the first time this season, lost for the second game running and are three points off the top of group B.

Rockets – Ice Punkers 5:0: Gago 1+3, two goals for Bilka

Rockets answered the Senec win just as convincingly. Martin Kadrliak opened the scoring on the power play in the 6th minute and Michal Gago added a short-handed goal in the 15th minute from a pass by Andrej Štefko. In the second half Samuel Bilka scored twice within 131 seconds and Matej Murcko completed the 5:0 win in the 39th minute. Gago had a goal and three assists and, together with Karol Vida, was the most productive player of the round. Dušan Konkoly kept a clean sheet.

Ice Punkers, after three wins in a row, failed to score for the first time this season and took four penalties, two of them by Braňo Balaško. Rockets have 17 points, the same as Senec, and are ahead of them in the table with a better goal difference (63:21 against 31:8). With 63 goals they have the best attack in the league.

Beers – HC Bratislava Black Wings 4:6: two hat tricks in one game

The highest-scoring game of the round was the very first one on Saturday. Beers led through a goal by Branislav Navrátil in the 5th minute, but HC Bratislava Black Wings turned it round to 1:3 by the break. Michal Andrasik equalised in the 6th minute, scored on a 5-on-3 power play in the 9th minute, and 86 seconds later, still on the power play, Karol Vida made it 1:3.

The second half was wild. Navrátil pulled one back on the power play to make it 2:3 and Michal Hlinka equalised at 3:3 in the 31st minute. Matej Kisý, set up by Vida, put Black Wings back in front, Navrátil completed his hat trick in the 35th minute to level at 4:4 again, and 57 seconds later Andrasik answered with his own third goal. Vida sealed the 4:6 result 66 seconds from the end.

Navrátil scored three of the four Beers goals and Andrasik three of the six Black Wings goals – two hat tricks in one game had not happened in RAHL3 this season. Vida had two goals and two assists and with 12 goals leads the scoring chart by three. In the vote for the Superfanúšik Player of Round 9 he received 26 of the 31 votes. Black Wings ended a run of three defeats.

HC Bratislava Black Wings – Knights (round 4), Roland Tanczer (no. 91) on the right. Photo: RAHL

TJ Družstevník Petržalka – AHC Pezinok Grapes 3:0: two goals in the last two minutes

TJ Družstevník Petržalka led from the 9th minute through a goal by Marek Navrátil, set up by Ivan Brauner and Rudi Rehák. AHC Pezinok Grapes took three penalties in the first half, but Družstevník could not convert their power plays and held only a narrow lead for a long time. The game was decided at the very end: Martin Zelenák made it 2:0 with 96 seconds left and Jaroslav Svinčiak completed the 3:0 win 45 seconds later. Matej Berenčík kept a clean sheet.

Družstevník have 16 points, are second in group A and three points behind Admirals. Grapes lost after two wins and are fifth in group B, level on points with Black Wings.

Márna Snaha – Ľadoborci 3:1, HC Vikings Petržalka – Knights 0:2 and Pressburg Reapers – Alpha Hockey Team 1:3

Márna Snaha won for the second time this season and for the first time since round 3. They led Ľadoborci 3:0, Marek Neubeller scored twice and added an assist and Peter Orlický had 1+1. Ľadoborci pulled one back through Róbert Kóňa. With six points Márna Snaha moved past Ľadoborci into sixth place in group B.

Knights beat HC Vikings Petržalka 2:0. Miloslav Faltan scored short-handed in the 16th minute and with 72 seconds left set up Roman Svec for the second goal. Tomas Marhefka kept a clean sheet. Knights are unbeaten in three games in a row for the first time this season, while Vikings remain the only team in the league without a win.

Alpha Hockey Team decided their game with Pressburg Reapers early on. Matus Cipak scored on the power play in the 4th minute and Juraj Černý made it 0:2 68 seconds later. Matej Jelačič pulled one back in the 31st minute, but 39 seconds later Adam Valášek restored Alpha's two-goal lead and the game ended 1:3. Alpha are unbeaten in two games and fifth in group A, while Reapers lost again after their first win in round 9.

Tables

Group A. Admirals lead with 19 points and a goal difference of 55:11 and are the only team in the league without a defeat. TJ Družstevník Petržalka are second with 16 points, Ice Punkers have ten and Royals nine. Alpha Hockey Team have seven points, Knights six, Beers five and HC Vikings Petržalka two.

Group B. Rockets and HC Lev Senec have 17 points each, with Rockets first on goal difference. Hockey for all have 14 points, HC Bratislava Black Wings and AHC Pezinok Grapes 12 each. Márna Snaha have six points, Ľadoborci five and Pressburg Reapers three.

Marián Vítek (Ice Punkers, no. 55) against Beers (round 4). Photo: RAHL

Worth noting

Round 10 produced 38 goals, the same as round 4 and the lowest total of the season. The four clean sheets (Berenčík, Nogely, Konkoly and Marhefka) equalled the maximum from round 2. Three goals were scored short-handed – by Maličký, Gago and Faltan – and five on the power play. The referees handed out 35 penalties, most of them to HC Bratislava Black Wings (5); only round 5 (44) and round 3 (36) had more. Over the season Black Wings (37) and Beers (30) have the most penalties, Knights (8) and Rockets (11) the fewest.

Points table

The points table is led by Matej Murcko of Rockets with 19 points (9+10) from seven games. Karol Vida of HC Bratislava Black Wings (12+6) and Peter Demeter of Rockets (9+9) have 18 points each, Patrik Bučič (6+9) and Lukáš Látka (5+10) of Admirals 15 each. Daniel Mrva of AHC Pezinok Grapes (9+5) and Martin Kadrliak (6+8) and Andrej Štefko (2+12) of Rockets have 14 points each. With 12 goals Vida is the league's top scorer, Murcko, Demeter and Mrva have nine each.

Round 11: HC Lev Senec v TJ Družstevník Petržalka completes the first half

Round 11 completes the first half of the regular season. The most interesting game is on Sunday, HC Lev Senec against TJ Družstevník Petržalka: the second-placed teams of both groups meet, with Senec having the best defence in the league (8 goals conceded) and Družstevník the third best (13). On Saturday Admirals play Beers, Rockets face Knights and Black Wings take on Hockey for all.

Saturday 14 November:
13:30 Knights – Rockets
15:15 HC Bratislava Black Wings – Hockey for all
16:30 Beers – Admirals
17:45 AHC Pezinok Grapes – Pressburg Reapers
19:00 Ľadoborci – HC Vikings Petržalka
20:15 Alpha Hockey Team – Márna Snaha
Sunday 15 November:
13:30 HC Lev Senec – TJ Družstevník Petržalka
14:45 Ice Punkers – Royals

Voting for the Superfanúšik Player of Round 10 is open until Saturday 14 November at 13:30 on the Player of the Round page.