2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season

The 2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season was the 29th season of the Slovak Extraliga, the highest ice hockey league in Slovakia.^[1][2]

2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season
League	Slovak Extraliga
Sport	Ice hockey
Duration	24 September 2021 – 13 March 2022 (regular season) 16 March – 1 May 2022 (playoffs)
Number of games	50
Number of teams	12
Regular season
League Champion	HC Slovan Bratislava
Top scorer	Samuel Buček (Nitra) (64 points)
Playoffs
Playoffs MVP	Samuel Buček (Nitra)
Finals
Champions	HC Slovan Bratislava
Runners-up	HK Nitra

Team changes

The newly established hockey club HC 21 Prešov replaced HC 07 Detva in Tipos extraliga from this season as Prešov should be made up of Detva players.^[3] After three seasons in Slovak Extraliga, the Hungarian team DVTK Jegesmedvék left the league to participate in the Erste Liga.^[4]

HK Spišská Nová Ves won Slovak 1. Liga in the season 2020–21 in a best-of-seven playoff against Vlci Žilina. They returned to Slovak Exraliga after eleven years, the last time they played there was in the 2009–10 season.^[5]

Regular season

Standings

Each team played 50 games: playing each of the other eleven teams four times – 2x at home, 2x away (44 games) and during the Christmas holidays (26.12.2021 – 9.1.2022) each team played the inserted matches within the region 1x at home, 1x away = 6 games.

Points were awarded for each game, where three points are awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion.

Pos	Team	Pld	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Slovan Bratislava	50	32	3	5	10	189	118	+71	104	Qualification to Quarter-finals
2	Zvolen	50	29	5	3	13	175	135	+40	100
3	Nitra	50	26	8	3	13	189	137	+52	97
4	Michalovce	50	25	3	7	15	136	140	−4	88
5	Košice	50	24	4	2	20	155	132	+23	82
6	Poprad	50	17	7	6	20	165	161	+4	71
7	Spišská Nová Ves	50	19	3	7	21	131	137	−6	70	Qualification to Wild card round
8	Banská Bystrica	50	18	5	5	22	142	146	−4	69
9	Trenčín	50	18	4	4	24	124	138	−14	66
10	Prešov	50	16	2	4	28	115	167	−52	56
11	Nové Zámky	50	16	1	3	30	125	168	−43	53
12	Liptovský Mikuláš	50	8	7	3	32	112	179	−67	41	Qualification to Play Out

Source: Tipos extraliga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points.

Statistics

Scoring leaders

The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.^[6]

Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/–	PIM
Samuel Buček	HK Nitra	50	41	23	64	+26	34
Brant Harris	HC Slovan Bratislava	49	21	38	59	+21	26
William Rapuzzi	HC Slovan Bratislava	50	25	31	56	+31	12
Patrik Svitana	HK Poprad	49	16	39	55	+12	16
Andrew Yogan	HC Slovan Bratislava	48	20	32	52	+26	32
Marcel Haščák	HC Slovan Bratislava	32	23	27	50	+22	20
Tony Cameranesi	HK Dukla Michalovce	49	16	30	46	+3	34
Cole Ully	HK Poprad	46	18	27	45	+11	24
Michal Chovan	HC Košice	49	14	31	45	+5	24
Robby Jackson	HC Nové Zámky	50	23	21	44	−8	14

Leading goaltenders

The following shows the top ten goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.^[7]

Player	Team	GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	Sv%	GAA
Clint Windsor	HC Slovan Bratislava	23	1296:25	17	6	47	4	92.62	2.18
Marcel Melicherčík	HK Spišská Nová Ves	38	2194:10	20	18	81	4	93.75	2.21
Evan Weninger	HC '05 Banská Bystrica	25	1516:15	14	11	58	2	92.46	2.30
Matt O'Connor	HK Nitra	27	1381:13	16	11	57	0	92.29	2.48
Michal Valent	HK Dukla Trenčín	34	1801:21	15	19	75	2	91.50	2.50
Devin Williams	HK Dukla Michalovce	22	1303:21	13	9	56	0	91.32	2.58
Andrej Košarišťan	HC Košice	35	1906:26	16	19	84	2	91.84	2.64
David Honzík	HK Nitra	30	1636:58	22	8	74	2	91.41	2.71
Robin Rahm	HKM Zvolen	40	2391:40	26	14	110	4	91.81	2.76
Tomáš Vošvrda	HK Dukla Michalovce	38	2161:14	14	24	106	3	90.54	2.94

Relegation series

Relegation series played between MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš, the 12th team in regular season, and Vlci Žilina, the winner of 1. Liga. The winner of the best-of-seven series will play in the 2022–23 Slovak Extraliga.

17 April 2022 16:00

Žilina

2–1 (1–1, 0–0, 1–0) score in the series: 1–0

Liptovský Mikuláš

Niké Aréna, Žilina Attendance: 3,680

Game reference
	Stanislav Škorvánek	Goalies	Patrik Lietava	Referees: Juraj Konc Jr. Peter Rojík Linesmen: Michal Orolin Martin Staššák
	Petráš – 03:22 1–0 1–1 13:04 – Handlovský (Kurali) Petran (Petráš) – 44:09 (PH2) 2–1
	4 min	Penalties	4 min
	19	Shots	34

18 April 2022 16:00

Žilina

1–3 (1–1, 0–1, 0–0) score in the series: 1–1

Liptovský Mikuláš

Niké Aréna, Žilina Attendance: 3,321

Game reference
	Stanislav Škorvánek	Goalies	Patrik Lietava	Referees: Martin Smrek Róbert Müllner Linesmen: Martin Hercog Lukáš Beniač
	0–1 02:08 – Kalousek (Cebák) Macek (Petran, Skladaný) – 08:37 1–1 1–2 34:32 – Mezovský 1–3 55:25 – Hovorka (Uhrík, Cebák)
	10 min	Penalties	12 min
	36	Shots	34

21 April 2022 17:00

Liptovský Mikuláš

4–1 (1–0, 1–0, 2–1) score in the series: 2–1

Žilina

Liptovský Mikuláš Ice Stadium, Liptovský Mikuláš Attendance: 1,000

Game reference
	Patrik Lietava	Goalies	Stanislav Škorvánek	Referees: Marek Žák Tomáš Orolin Linesmen: Martin Ordzovenský Andrej Bogdaň
	Walega (Ventelä) – 04:43 1–0 Shiksatdarov (Ventelä) – 28:12 2–0 Elo (Paločko, Handlovský) – 50:58 3–0 Paločko (Ventelä) – 53:13 4–0 4–1 59:59 – Macek (Halama)
	16 min	Penalties	22 min
	41	Shots	15

22 April 2022 17:00

Liptovský Mikuláš

3–2 (0–0, 1–2, 2–0) score in the series: 3–1

Žilina

Liptovský Mikuláš Ice Stadium, Liptovský Mikuláš Attendance: 1,200

Game reference
	Patrik Lietava Tobias Klimčák	Goalies	Maroš Mikoláš	Referees: Juraj Konc Jr. Martin Jobbágy Linesmen: Adam Jurčiak Juraj Šefčík
	Handlovský (Uhrík, Pavúk) – 27:23 1–0 1–1 31:59 – Vybiral (Skladaný) (PH1) 1–2 34:40 – Jansons (Koyš, Markovič) Elo (Uhrík) – 41:04 2–2 Hovorka (Ventelä, Paločko) – 44:44 3–2
	22 min	Penalties	18 min
	26	Shots	13

24 April 2022 17:00

Žilina

0–4 (0–1, 0–2, 0–1) score in the series: 1–4

Liptovský Mikuláš

Niké Aréna, Žilina Attendance: 2,236

Game reference
	Maroš Mikoláš	Goalies	Patrik Lietava Tobias Klimčák	Referees: Vladimír Baluška Tomáš Hronský Linesmen: Michal Orolin Šimon Synek
	0–1 03:03 – Kriška (Shiksatdarov) 0–2 26:25 – Kriška (Ventelä) 0–3 38:18 – Kriška (Shiksatdarov) 0–4 58:28 – Hovorka (Kriška, Handlovský)
	6 min	Penalties	30 min
	14	Shots	28

Playoffs

Ten teams qualify for the playoffs: the top six teams in the regular season have a bye to the quarterfinals, while teams ranked seventh to tenth meet each other (7 versus 10, 8 versus 9) in a preliminary playoff round.

Bracket

	Wild-card round (best-of-5)					Quarter-finals (best-of-7)					Semi-finals (best-of-7)					Finals (best-of-7)
						1	Slovan Bratislava	4
	7	Spišská Nová Ves	0			10	Prešov	0
	10	Prešov	3								1	Slovan Bratislava	4
											5	Košice	3
						4	Michalovce	2			(Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round)
						5	Košice	4
																1	Slovan Bratislava	4
																3	Nitra	2
						2	Zvolen	4
	8	Banská Bystrica	3			8	Banská Bystrica	1
	9	Trenčín	1								2	Zvolen	2
											3	Nitra	4
						3	Nitra	4
						6	Poprad	3

Wild card round

Spišská Nová Ves – Prešov 0–3 16.3.2022 Spišská Nová Ves Prešov 0-3 17.3.2022 Spišská Nová Ves Prešov 3-4 OT 19.3.2022 Prešov Spišská Nová Ves 3-2 Prešov won the series 3–0.

Banská Bystrica – Trenčín 3–1 16.3.2022 Banská Bystrica Trenčín 3-2 17.3.2022 Banská Bystrica Trenčín 4-2 19.3.2022 Trenčín Banská Bystrica 3-2 OT 20.3.2022 Trenčín Banská Bystrica 1-3 Banská Bystrica won the series 3–1.

Quarterfinals

Slovan Bratislava – Prešov 4–0 25.3.2022 Slovan Bratislava Prešov 6-2 26.3.2022 Slovan Bratislava Prešov 2-1 29.3.2022 Prešov Slovan Bratislava 2-3 OT 30.3.2022 Prešov Slovan Bratislava 0-2 Slovan Bratislava won the series 4–0. Nitra – Poprad 4–3 23.3.2022 Nitra Poprad 0-4 24.3.2022 Nitra Poprad 7-1 27.3.2022 Poprad Nitra 4-6 28.3.2022 Poprad Nitra 4-2 31.3.2022 Nitra Poprad 3-4 2.4.2022 Poprad Nitra 1-5 4.4.2022 Nitra Poprad 3-1 Nitra won the series 4–3.

Zvolen – Banská Bystrica 4–1 25.3.2022 Zvolen Banská Bystrica 5-1 26.3.2022 Zvolen Banská Bystrica 1-2 29.3.2022 Banská Bystrica Zvolen 1-2 30.3.2022 Banská Bystrica Zvolen 2-6 1.4.2022 Zvolen Banská Bystrica 3-2 OT Zvolen won the series 4–1. Michalovce – Košice 2–4 23.3.2022 Michalovce Košice 1-4 24.3.2022 Michalovce Košice 1-3 27.3.2022 Košice Michalovce 2-1 OT 28.3.2022 Košice Michalovce 2-6 31.3.2022 Michalovce Košice 4-1 2.4.2022 Košice Michalovce 2-1 OT Košice won the series 4–2.

Semifinals

Slovan Bratislava – Košice 4–3 7.4.2022 Slovan Bratislava Košice 5-2 8.4.2022 Slovan Bratislava Košice 6-2 11.4.2022 Košice Slovan Bratislava 3-1 12.4.2022 Košice Slovan Bratislava 3-1 15.4.2022 Slovan Bratislava Košice 3-2 17.4.2022 Košice Slovan Bratislava 4-2 19.4.2022 Slovan Bratislava Košice 3-2 OT Slovan Bratislava won the series 4–3.

Zvolen – Nitra 2–4 9.4.2022 Zvolen Nitra 2-3 10.4.2022 Zvolen Nitra 6-5 13.4.2022 Nitra Zvolen 3-2 14.4.2022 Nitra Zvolen 2-3 16.4.2022 Zvolen Nitra 2-5 18.4.2022 Nitra Zvolen 2-1 Nitra won the series 4–2.

Finals

22 April 2022 18:30

Slovan Bratislava

6–4 (2–1, 3–1, 1–2) score in the series: 1–0

Nitra

Ondrej Nepela Arena, Bratislava Attendance: 10,016

Game reference
	Anthony Peters	Goalies	David Honzík Matthew O'Connor	Referees: Vladimír Snášel Jr. Miroslav Štefik Linesmen: Matúš Stanzel Ľudovít Šoltés
	0–1 05:42 – Buncis (Krivošík, Mezei) Yogan (Chalupa) – 11:22 1–1 Harris (Jääskeläinen, Gachulinec) – 13:04 2–1 MacKenzie (Kytnár, Gachulinec) – 20:47 3–1 3–2 24:37 – Rockwood (Švarný, Holešinský) Yogan (Gachulinec, Kytnár) – 26:52 4–2 Haščák (Zigo) – 38:22 5–2 5–3 40:18 – Buček (Buncis, Krivošík) 5–4 47:42 – Buček (Nemec, Rockwood) (PP1) Takáč (Valach, Breton) (EN) – 58:54 6–4
	4 min	Penalties	0 min
	31	Shots	23

23 April 2022 18:30

Slovan Bratislava

1–2 OT (0–0, 0–0, 1–1) (OT: 0–1) score in the series: 1–1

Nitra

Ondrej Nepela Arena, Bratislava Attendance: 10,016

Game reference
	Clint Windsor	Goalies	David Honzík	Referees: Milan Novák Martin Korba Linesmen: Tomáš Gegáň Andrej Bogdaň
	0–1 51:16 – Buncis (Buček, Nemec) Jääskeläinen (MacKenzie, Takáč) – 59:47 1–1 1–2 71:23 – Raskob (Hrnka, Krivošík)
	6 min	Penalties	12 min
	36	Shots	24

26 April 2022 18:30

Nitra

2–6 (0–2, 1–4, 1–0) score in the series: 1–2

Slovan Bratislava

Nitra Aréna, Nitra Attendance: 3,600

Game reference
	David Honzík Matthew O'Connor	Goalies	Clint Windsor	Referees: Peter Stano Miroslav Štefik Linesmen: Oto Durmis Lukáš Kacej
	0–1 12:35 – Haščák (MacKenzie, Takáč) (PP1) 0–2 16:39 – Gašpar 0–3 22:47 – Bezák (Belluš, Sersen) 0–4 25:05 – MacKenzie (Harris) (PP1) 0–5 27:33 – Rapuzzi (MacKenzie, Takáč) Varga (Baláž, Švarný) – 37:37 1–5 1–6 38:04 – Haščák (Yogan, Rapuzzi) Rockwood (Buček, Nemec) – 51:49 2–6
	6 min	Penalties	12 min
	18	Shots	28

27 April 2022 18:30

Nitra

4–1 (1–0, 2–0, 1–1) score in the series: 2–2

Slovan Bratislava

Nitra Aréna, Nitra Attendance: 3,600

Game reference
	David Honzík Matthew O'Connor	Goalies	Clint Windsor	Referees: Peter Stano Martin Korba Linesmen: Matúš Stanzel Andrej Bogdaň
	Hrnka (Holešinský, Bajtek) (PP1) – 01:24 1–0 Hrnka (Raskob, Baláž) – 25:06 2–0 Buček (Baláž, Nemec) – 39:12 3–0 Buncis (Buček, Nemec) – 41:05 4–0 4–1 55:07 - Takáč (Sersen)
	31 min	Penalties	48 min
	22	Shots	20

29 April 2022 18:30

Slovan Bratislava

3–1 (0–0, 2–1, 1–0) score in the series: 3–2

Nitra

Ondrej Nepela Arena, Bratislava Attendance: 10,016

Game reference
	Anthony Peters	Goalies	David Honzík	Referees: Peter Stano Miroslav Štefik Linesmen: Oto Durmis Tomáš Gegáň
	Yogan (Rapuzzi, Haščák) – 21:41 1–0 Lukošik (Kytnár, Sukeľ) – 26:53 2–0 2–1 39:02 – Mezei (Buček, Buncis) Harris (Rapuzzi, Haščák) (PP1) – 47:57 3–1
	8 min	Penalties	33 min
	38	Shots	20

1 May 2022 18:30

Nitra

2–5 (0–0, 1–1, 1–4) score in the series: 2–4

Slovan Bratislava

Nitra Aréna, Nitra Attendance: 3,600

Game reference
	David Honzík	Goalies	Anthony Peters	Referees: Martin Korba Miroslav Štefik Linesmen: Oto Durmis Lukáš Kacej
	0–1 29:02 – Takáč (Harris) Mezei (Varga, Nemec) – 37:28 1–1 1–2 44:03 – Haščák (Gachulinec) Nemec (Mezei) (PP1) – 44:22 2–2 2–3 45:13 – Golian (Jääskeläinen, Takáč) 2–4 58:03 – Kytnár (Takáč, Sersen) 2–5 59:15 – Takáč (Harris, Sersen)
	4 min	Penalties	4 min
	36	Shots	32

Final rankings

	Slovan Bratislava
	Nitra
	Zvolen
4	Košice
5	Michalovce
6	Poprad
7	Banská Bystrica
8	Prešov
9	Spišská Nová Ves
10	Trenčín
11	Nové Zámky
12	Liptovský Mikuláš

2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season winners
HC Slovan Bratislava 9th title