Tuesday night game one of both semifinal series, the top seeds took the very important first game as both matchups were tightly contested, Miskolc won in overtime with Dunaújváros winning in regulation.
Miskolc-Brasov 3-2 OT
Brasov struck first when Martin Saluga continued where he left off from the series against Debrecen with a power play goal at the end of the first period. The second period remained scoreless until the closing seconds when Jesse Dudas tied it up at 1-1. The two teams traded goals in the third period when Árpád Mihály took a pass from Zsolt Molnár and put it past Bence Bálizs, Brasov held the lead until Miskolc pulled the goalie for the extra attacker and Matt Boyle scored in the last minute of play to send the game to overtime. Balázs Gőz set up Keegan Dansereau for the overtime winner just over five minutes into the extra period.
“It was real hard playoff game, which was what we expected, for the most part when needed we had the upper hand, most of their chances came on odd man rushes. If we can work on these mistakes then we will be a very hard team to beat.” Krisztián Nagy
Game 1: Miskolc-Brasov 3-2 OT
Game 2: February 18th 18:00 at Miskolc (DIGI Sport)
Game 3: February 21st 17:00 at Brasov
Game 4: February 22nd 17:00 at Brasov
Game 5: February 25th 18:00 at Miskolc (if needed)
Game 6: February 28th 17:00 at Brasov (if needed)
Game 7: March 3rd 18:00 at Miskolc (if needed)
DAB.Docler-Nové Zámky 3-2
Balázs Somogyi opened up the scoring for the home team as he beat Lukas Cikánek for the early lead. Nové Zámky tied it up at 1-1 when Marek Dubec scored on a two man advantage in the closing minutes of the first twenty minutes. Dunaújváros took control of the game in the second period as Dávid Szappanos and Imre Peterdi scored two unanswered goals, the third period remained scoreless as until the closing minutes when Lubomir Hurtaj pulled Cikánek for the extra attacker, this payed off when Eric Caladi scored but with 14 seconds left in the game Nové Zámky ran out of time and came up short 3-2.
“They are a great club, lots of offensive talent. Tonight was hard fought and we are happy to open the series with a win but hopefully we can clean up a few parts of our game and refocus for tomorrow.” Nathan Martine
Game 1: DAB.Docler-Nové Zámky 3-2
Game 2: February 18th 18:00 at DAB.Docler
Game 3: February 21st 19:00 at Nové Zámky (DIGI Sport)
Game 4: February 22nd 17:00 at Nové Zámky
Game 5: February 25th 18:00 at DAB.Docler (if needed)
Game 6: February 28th 17:00 at Nové Zámky (if needed)
Game 7: March 3rd 18:00 at DAB.Docler (if needed)