BRATISLAVA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Regular-season winner HKM Zvolen kicked off the Slovak ice hockey premiership Tipos Extraliga semifinal playoffs with a thrilling 3-2 win over HC Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday.
The home team took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series after the penalty shootout victory.
Thirteen minutes into the game, unguarded Zvolen defender Michal Ivan received a pass from behind the goal and had no trouble bringing the puck deep and opening the score with a shot up top.
Peter Zuzin could have stretched the lead to two in the second period, but his shot bounced off the crossbar after the opposing goalie's quick save.
Instead, Bratislava tied the game with only nine seconds left on the clock when its Canadian forward Brant Harris scored on a powerplay from near the blue line 1-1.
One minute into the final period, Zvolen retook the lead with a 5-on-3 powerplay goal of its own, but Bratislava managed to find an answer again. The visiting veteran defenseman Andrej Meszaros pushed the game into overtime with yet another powerplay goal from near the blue line, 2-2.
Both goalies standing strong during OT before a penalty shootout had to determine the winner and Zvolen's Finnish forward Mikko Nuutinen turned into the hero of the day.
Slovan goalie Tyler Parks finished the game with a whopping 47 saves. Enditem