MAC-DVTK 2-3
The defending champions Diósgyőri VTK brought in a two games to one lead for game three against MAC Budapest in the championship series. DVTK won all three regular season games at the Tüskecsarnok, Jason Morgan had Dávid Gyenes in net, missing from the lineup was Jesse Dudás and Attila Pavuk who were both serving one game suspension for separate hits on Jeff Hayes. The good news for DVTK fans was that Jarkko Leppanen was back in the lineup after a shoulder injury. MAC had Bence Bálizs in the cage, Tamás Pozsgai was back in the lineup after missing the first two games and Ian McDonald who picked up an injury in the second period of game two, Tomas Klempa was still missing and Árpád Németh was in the lineup.
In the first period the balance of the game was in the favor of DVTK, which they took advantage of when they scored twice in a span of a minute and a half. Adrián Hajós fed the puck to the front of the net where Nikandrosz Galanisz scored from just outside of the crease. The second goal came off of the stick of Hajós after he tapped home a rebound off of a Kalvin Sagert shot from the blue line. Ian McDonald left the game early in the period with an injury.
The second period was much more balanced as both teams created scoring chances, the first goal was scored just at the midway point of the game when Jeff Hayes took a shot from the slot that trickled through Gyenes. Later in the period with MAC on the power play Drew Olson came down the left wing, looped down behind the goal and stuffed it in past Gyenes to tie the game up at two a piece.
The third period started off fast as both teams for hunting for the third goal. DVTK went up 3-2 when they came down on a two on one, with Viktor Tokaji as the one back, he was able to cut off the pass but Jon Booras was trailing the play and fired it past Bálizs.
DVTK head coach Jason Morgan: We got the start that we wanted, it was a pivotal game three, you are up three nothing or you let them back into the the series. We kind of traded chances back and forth and we stopped doing the little things. In the third period the things started coming together, we found a goal and held on for the win.
MAC head coach Gergely Majoross: Aside from the first twenty minutes the game was positive and everyone did what we could. This was the problem against an opponent like this, you need to be able to play a full game. This is not enough to start playing in the thirteenth minute, we did not deserve to win the way we played today. We had chances but they had more and they have more of those type of players that can win.