BRATISLAVA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Nitra Hockey Club stretched its winning streak to five on Sunday after crushing HK Dukla Trencin 6-3 in the 38th round of Slovakia's Tipos Extraliga and moving to third in the standings.

HK Nitra started in style on the ice of Dukla Trencin, scoring inside the first minute from a rebound, and adding two more goals by the fifth minute, forcing home goalie Ben Bowns to call for a substitute. Trencin succeeded in cutting the deficit to two in the 11th minute but Nitra scored twice early in the second period, building a comfortable lead that resulted in the final win. Nitra left wing Adrian Holesinsky had a goal and two assists.

Elsewhere, HC '05 Banska Bystrica secured a 3-2 shootout win over HK Spisska Nova Ves, going 2-0 up early in the third period when the American forward Chris Berger aimed the puck at the visiting goalie from behind the goal, hoping for a lucky ricochet, and succeeded. But the visitors managed to mount a comeback. Finnish forward Otto Nieminen swept in a rebound in the 56th minute and his Canadian teammate Jeremy Beaudry capitalized on the man advantage as Spisska Nova Ves pulled the goalie in the final moments, tying the game at 2-2 with 90 seconds left on the clock. Both goalies stood fast in OT, but Banska Bystrica converted on the first three attempts in the shootout to secure the win.

In the battle between two teams on long losing streaks, both Presov and Liptovsky Mikulas only managed to score once in regulation time. The third minute of overtime broke the tie when visiting forward Michal Uhrik scored his second of the night after taking the puck around the outside and sending a quick wrist shot just below home goalie Nikita Bespalov's glove, spoiling his solid night of 46 successful saves. As a result, Presov lost its ninth match in the last 10 rounds. Enditem

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