HK Nitra is the new Slovak champion

After Switzerland and Russia, another European ice hockey powerhouse has its new champion: this season of the Slovak Extraliga has, in fact, ended last night, with the ultimate victory of HK Nitra against Banská Bystrica. The latter had upset the whole league by defeating regular season winner Kosice in six games, after having ended the first phase of the competition at the fourth place. Nitra, who finished second, swept Zilina four games to nihil before fighting hard to reach the final, whose final qualification came after seven games.

During the finals, Nitra won games 1, 2, 4 and 6, the latter after regulation time with a score of 3-2: it is the first time after seven years in a row that Kosice does not make it to the finals, and the second year in a row in which Banská Bystrica finishes second. Nitra, after a second place in 2014 and a third place in 2015, wins the Slovak national league for the first time, after having been Czechoslovak champion of the two last seasons of the now defunct competition.