BRATISLAVA, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Slovan Bratislava's tremendous nine-game winning streak came to an end on Friday after the team from the capital city lost 3-6 to DVTK Miskolc, one of the two Hungarian clubs playing in the Slovak premier ice-hockey league Tipsport Liga.
The Canadian forward Kyle Beach opened the scoring in Miskolc and led the home team's efforts with two goals. Bratislava managed to erase its opponents lead twice and even took the lead in the second period but Miskolc scored four in a row to secure the prestigious victory over the league's leader.
Second-ranked Kosice left nothing to chance and cut their deficit to seven points after defeating Poprad 2-1 in the derby match between two teams from the eastern region of Slovakia. Poprad opened the score but the home team managed to rally.
Gaining a victory after two defeats, Banska Bystrica is now only eight points behind Bratislava in third place. The last season champions edged in a close 4-3 success over Budapest, the other Hungarian team playing in the league. Banska Bystrica's top-scoring Canadian defenceman Jordon Southorn led his team with two goals and one assist, serving Budapest its fourth straight defeat.
Fifth-ranked Trencin was on a roll, winning its fourth match in a row. Michalovce conceded a goal only 35 seconds into the game and despite tying things up in the second lost to Trencin 1-2 in the end.
The wildest duel was fought in Zvolen. Bottom-ranked Liptovsky Mikulas started off like in a dream, scoring three goals in succession, but failed to bring home a victory. Zvolen rallied in the final act and managed to turn the game around, triumphing 6-4 and serving the visitors their third defeat in a row.
Nove Zamky succeeded in ending its horrible six-game losing streak by triumphing over Nitra 4-1. This victory lifted the team from the south of the country one spot in the rankings to the penultimate position.
Earlier this week, four teams pre-played their 26th round matchups planned originally for the end of November. Budapest lost to Michalovce 1-3 and Kosice utterly destroyed Liptovsky Mikulas 8-0. Kosice's Marcel Hascak experienced one of the best nights of his career scoring four goals and assisting on two more.
