Express Drop Game 1 in Bratislava

[Bojovnik 487]

Sunday night was hockey night in the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava. The Watchmen hosted the Cologne Express in Game 1 of their Semi-Final series, a match-up that many experts predict could go the full seven games.

 

The Watchmen, the best defensive team in the VHLE, set up as expected and attempted to suffocate the Express forwards. Throughout the first two periods of the game, the Watchmen limited the Express to just 11 shots on goal, and the home side took the lead in the first period through Jimmy MacElroy.

 

In the second frame, the Express made good on their first powerplay of the evening, as Maxwell Mathias lit the lamp for the German side, However, the hosts made the Express pay for their ill-discipline. The German side took three minor penalties in the middle frame, and MacElroy netted his second of the game with six minutes left in the period to restore the Watchmen’s one goal lead.

 

The Express piled on the pressure in the third period, mustering 17 shots on goal. However, Orion D H Chiester IX turned away all of them, as the Slovak side picked up the Game 1 victory.

 

“There was a lot that we can be happy about in this game. Our penalty kill was good, but we took too many penalties. We showed what we could do in the third period and we faced a hot goalie, but we know that we have to generate more chances at the start of the game. We’re not disheartened yet. There was enough in this game to show that we can compete with Bratislava, and if we work on things, we can win Game 2,” Express captain Yaroslav Bogatyrev said after the game.