Slovak Extraliga Round 17: Drama, comebacks, and a three-way tie at the top

If you ever needed proof that Slovak hockey can match any European league for pure drama, look no further than the 17th round of the 2025–26 Tipsport Extraliga. Sunday’s games (November 2) had everything: a statement away win, last-minute goals, shocking collapses, and the kind of tension that makes you love this leagu

By the end of the night, HC Slovan Bratislava, HK Nitra, and Vlci Žilina were all level on 38 points — three contenders separated only by goal difference, all playing hockey worth watching.

Nitra silence Košice with ruthless efficiency

In Košice, HK Nitra delivered the kind of performance that makes coaches smile and home fans groan. A 5–0 road win — clinical, physical, and complete.
Košice entered the game on a four-game winning streak and looked ready to keep climbing, but Nitra had other ideas. From the first puck drop, the visitors dictated the rhythm, winning battles along the boards and punishing defensive errors.

Slovak outlets like Sportnet and Hokejportal noted that it was one of Nitra’s most dominant displays of the season, with forwards Jakub Ružička and Mário Lunter both on the scoresheet. The clean sheet adds to their growing reputation as the most balanced team in the league — capable of both offensive flair and defensive control.

Slovan edge Banská Bystrica in a thriller

Over in Bratislava, Slovan proved why champions don’t panic.
They led 3–1, then saw Banská Bystrica claw back to level the game — and just when overtime looked inevitable, Ryan O’Connor fired home the winner four seconds before the final buzzer.
Fans inside Ondrej Nepela Arena erupted; it was the kind of finish that keeps Slovan’s 16-game regulation unbeaten streak alive and their title ambitions intact.

Coach Ján Paukovček later told Hokejportal that “these are the wins that build champions — when you find a way, even when you’re not perfect.”

And then came Žilina.
Down 0–4 in Trenčín after just 30 minutes, the Wolves could have folded. Instead, they unleashed a furious comeback — scoring five unanswered goals, including the winner with just 16 seconds left on the clock.
A wild 5–4 win that felt like something out of a movie script, and one that has Žilina dreaming big again.

Slovak media called it “one of the games of the season,” and rightly so. No team this round embodied resilience better than Žilina.

Behind the title contenders, the league remains unpredictable.

• Prešov shocked Liptovský Mikuláš with a 6–5 overtime win, despite trailing 2–5 late in the second period.

• Spišská Nová Ves snapped a four-game losing streak, beating Poprad 4–2 and dragging their rivals deeper into mid-table trouble.

• Zvolen cruised past Michalovce 5–1, showing flashes of the form that made them a playoff regular in past seasons.

In short: nobody’s safe, and nobody’s secure.

The Extraliga table is now a picture of tension:

Rank	Team	Points
1	HC Slovan Bratislava	38
2	HK Nitra	38
3	Vlci Žilina	38
4	HKM Zvolen	33
5	HC Košice	32

 

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