Zlin complete comeback; advance to quarter finals

06 Mar 2012 | Jon Rowson

PSG Zlín defeat Třinec in Game 5 to take the series and advance.

After winning Game 4 on the road, a shortbenched Zlín side completed the comeback by defeating Třinec at home to take the best of five series and move on to the Extraliga Quarter Finals, where they will face Plzeň

Zlín 4 - 2 Třinec

(Zlín win series 3-2)

Over 6,000 fans packed into the Zimní stadion Luďka Čajky to see the deciding game in the playoff qualification round between these two teams. The defending champions, Třinec, were looking to get the momentum back after their Game 4 loss and advance, whilst the home fans were hoping that their team would complete the comeback.

Both teams gave each other a number of chances in the early going, and after killing off a minute of 5 on 3, Zlin were given their chance on the powerplay. After killing of a Peter Hamerlík penalty, Martin Lojek took a slashing penalty, and 17 seconds after he had taken his seat in the penalty box, Zlin had capitalised. Třinec failed to clear the zone, and a beauty of a give and go play between Marek Melenovsky and Ondřej Veselý saw the latter finish off the play, tapping into an open goal, giving the home team the lead. The penalties dried up for the rest of the period, and the teams went into the first intermission with the score at 1-0 Zlin.

The second period began in earnest, but it would only take 92 seconds for Zlín to double their advantage. Marek Melenovsky turned provided to goal scorer as pounced on a rebound off of a Lukáš Galvas point shot, sending a backhand into the gaping goal. Zlín had all the momentum but they began to struggle as Třinec started to get back into the game, as Zbyněk Hampl was denied by the crossbar. However, with six minutes remaining in the second period, Třinec's luck ran out. Melenovsky and Petr Čajánek combined at the blue line, and the former took the puck on the right hand side. His attempted cross crease pass took a wicked deflection off of the Třinec defenceman, and the puck trickled past a beaten Hamerlík, giving Zlín an almost unassailable 3-0 lead. Two minutes later Třinec were handed an opportunity to get on the board, as they were given a penalty shot which Jakub Orsava finished off superbly, but they still had a mountain to climb.

Třinec had to get off to a quick start in the third period, but it was their opponents who got the early jump. Ondřej Veselý pounced on a woeful turnover in the neutral zone, and he advanced down the left wing. He had Petr Leška with him, but Veselý went alone, and his nifty backhand move beat Hamerlík and sent the home fans into raptures. Try as they might Třinec could not find a way back into the game, and although they got a consolation goal through Zbyněk Hampl with a touch over two minutes to go, they couldn't find a way to win the game, and it will be the Moravians who will take the final playoff spot, where they will face the second seeds, HC Plzeň.

As a consequence, this leaves the playoff matchups as follows:

(1) HC Sparta Praha vs (8) HC Kometa Brno.

(2) HC Plzeň vs (7) PSG Zlin

(3) HC Pardubice vs (6) HC Vitkovice

(4) Bili Tygri Liberec vs (5) HC MOUNTFIELD České Budějovice.