体坛英语新闻：Banska Bystrica dominates Slovak premier ice-hockey league, Bratislava waits for slip-up

BRATISLAVA, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Slovan Bratislava continued the hunt for the top spot in the Slovak premier ice-hockey league Tipsport Liga but Banska Bystrica refused to surrender, winning their eighth straight match on Sunday and keeping a one-point lead after the 17th round.

Defending champion Banska Bystrica kept its momentum going, producing another win of their remarkable series by defeating the fourth-ranked Kosice 4-2 in the most attractive match of the round. The home team poured its efforts into tying things up late in the game but Patrik Lamper's empty-net goal sealed the win for the visitors.

Second-ranked Bratislava did not have to grind too hard to keep its hope of dethroning Banska Bystrica in the near future. Eight-placed Trencin offered only medium resistance, allowing Bratislava to dominate 4-1 after 30 minutes of play and win 5-3 in the end.

After scoring a goal each in the first period, the battle between Miskolc - one of the two Hungarian teams playing in the Slovak league - and Nitra was eventually decided in overtime. Miskolc's Canadian attacker Kyle Beach became the hero of the night, providing the home team's third triumph in succession.

After a great start, the newcomer of the league Michalovce has gone through a rough patch. Poprad, on the other hand, managed to put a stop to their negative series of four straight defeats by hiring a new coach Peter Mikula. The team from the town located at the foothills of Slovakia's tallest mountain range the High Tatras scored twice in the last period to edge its opponent from the east of the country 2-0. Poprad's goalie Tomas Vosvrda registered his third shutout of the season.

The clash between Nove Zamky and Liptovsky Mikulas, the last-ranked side of the league, produced a rich-goal battle that had to be decided in a shootout after a 4-4 draw in regulation time. Nove Zamky converted on three penalty shots to put the game away at 5-4.

Budapest, the other Hungarian team in the league, led twice in Detva but the home team tied the game both times and concluded its rallying efforts in overtime when Jan Sykora scored his second goal of the night, sealing the 3-2 win for the visitors.