HC Nitra took a 2-1 decision over HK32 Liptovsky Mikulas in regulation, and the margin was built entirely in the opening 20 minutes. Two first-period goals were all the home side needed on a night when the finishing dried up afterward.
Nitra led 2-0 after one, the only period either team scored more than once. Liptovsky Mikulas answered in the middle frame to make it 2-1, and that was the turning point that never quite turned — the third period went scoreless, leaving the score untouched from the second intermission on.
The number that frames it: three goals in the game, all of them in the first two periods, none in the last. Nitra's 2-0 opening frame was the entire difference, and a clean third period preserved it.