BRATISLAVA, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- The 23rd round of the Slovak ice hockey premiership Tipos Extraliga saw league-leader HC Slovan Bratislava stretch its lead to six points after a clear 4-1 victory in Trencin on Sunday.

Slovan Bratislava Hockey Club continues to ride the winning wave, defeating HK Dukla Trencin without much effort. The home team averted a debacle late in the third period. Slovan's Canadian goalie Clint Windsor had a wonderful night, saving a whopping 40 shots by Trencin.

HK Spisska Nova Ves got an early jump on HKM Zvolen, leading 4-1 in the middle of the match, but the home team managed to mount a comeback and tied things up early in the third period during a powerplay when its 19-year-old forward Maros Jedlicka scored his second of the night. But a few minutes later, the visiting forward Matej Gilak also scored his second goal (after assisting on both the other goals of his team) on a nice passing play, grabbing a 5-4 lead. The reigning champs got stunned by this final blow and failed to force overtime despite pulling their goalie in the final moments, conceding an empty-netter instead.

Nove Zamky Hockey Club scored an unexpected victory over the third-ranked HK Dukla Ingema Michalovce 4-2.

HK Nitra's two goals within the first two-and-a-half minutes laid a solid foundation for beating HC Kosice 3-1 in the end. "It was an unpleasant beginning but we had a chance of getting back into the game. As a head coach, I am responsible for the results. We cannot rely on winning a game with only a single goal scored. We have to work on that," said Kosice coach Kalle Kaskinen after the loss.

Poprad Hockey Club was on its way back to the top half of the league, leading in Liptovsky Mikulas 3-1 after two periods, but the home team rallied in the final stretch and pushed the game into overtime and eventually a penalty shootout which it won. Enditem

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