Nitra is Slovak champion for the third time. In Game 7 it beat Slovan 4:3 in overtime, Chrenko decided it

On Thursday evening, Nitra's hockey players won the decisive seventh game of the Tipsport Liga finals against Slovan Bratislava 4:3 in overtime, claiming their third championship title in club history. In front of a sold-out crowd of 3,600 at Nitra Aréna, forward Tomáš Chrenko broke the resistance of the Bratislava opponents in the 74th minute, after none of the dozens of chances in overtime up to that point had gotten past goalkeepers Dylan Ferguson and Topi Kiviaho. sportnet.sme.sk ↗

For Nitra, this is a title after two years — the previous gold came in the 2023/24 season, when Corgoni won the final against Spišská Nová Ves in a clean 4:0 series sweep. In this year's final against Bratislava, Nitra was down 1:3, faced two match points against them, and turned the series around in the last three games — first winning at home 5:3, then in Bratislava 5:2, and finally today winning 4:3 after a dramatic third period and 13 minutes of overtime. hokejspravy.sk ↗

The official Tipsport Liga highlights capture the 5:2 win in Bratislava in Game 6, which secured Nitra's spot in Game 7:



The third title is also a double revenge for Nitra: last year Corgoni lost the final to Košice 3:4 in the series, and in 2022, in the previous final against Slovan, they likewise fell — also after a seven-game duel, losing 2:4 at that time. Coach Andrej Kmeč, referred to as a club legend on the Nitra bench, thus led the club to the title in his second consecutive final. hknitra.sk ↗

The home side led 1:0 after the first period thanks to defenseman Marek Stacha (15th minute, assist by Matej Paulovič). In the second period, however, Samuel Takáč scored twice (24th and 34th minutes), turning the score to 2:1 and then 3:1, and in the 35th minute Tomáš Královič extended the lead to 1:3. Nitra managed to respond before the end of the second period with a goal by Joshua Passolt (31st minute, assisted by Joshua Lawrence and Zach Osburn), and in the 49th minute Michal Krištof equalized to 3:3 from behind the net. After three periods no decision had been reached, and the champion was determined in overtime. sportnet.sme.sk ↗

In overtime, Slovan had several excellent chances — Pecararo and Dmowski exchanged cross passes in front of Ferguson, O'Connor followed up on a puck rebounding off the boards, and Buček had a great opportunity after a delayed line change from behind the net. Nitra's goalkeeper, however, stopped everything. On the other end, Kiviaho stopped both Stacha's shot and Krištof's attempt. In the 74th minute, though, Slovan faltered in the offensive zone, and after a shot on net the puck reached Tomáš Chrenko, who from mid-range gave Kiviaho no chance. The game that decided the Slovak hockey champion was officiated by referees Krajčík and Stano (linesmen Durmis and Kacej). sportnet.sme.sk ↗

For Slovan Bratislava, the final defeat means they will have to wait for their tenth title. The club, with nine titles, continues to hold second place in the historical table of the standalone Slovak extraliga — ahead of them are Košice with ten titles (after their win over Nitra itself in the 2024/25 season). Slovan last celebrated a title in the 2021/22 season, coincidentally also at Nitra's expense. The Belasí (Blues) returned to the extraliga after a seven-year stint in the KHL (2012–2019) in the 2019/20 season. The most productive scorer of the entire playoffs remained Slovan's Ryan Dmowski with ten goals. sportnet.sme.sk ↗

The attention of Slovak hockey now shifts to the 2026 World Championship, being played in the Swiss cities of Zurich and Fribourg from May 15 to 31. Slovakia's national team is in Group B in Fribourg alongside Canada, Sweden, Czechia, Denmark, Norway, Slovenia and Italy. The opening game against Norway is on Saturday, May 16, at 12:20.

What hotinfo is following:
— Reactions from coach Kmeč and Slovan captain Tomáš Marcinko after the series ended
— Nitra's roster for the upcoming season — whether it can retain Buček, Krištof, Passolt and goalkeeper Ferguson
— The Slovak national team roster for the 2026 World Championship and which Nitra and Slovan players will make it
— The question of whether Slovan, four years after their last title, will rethink their roster strategy ahead of next season