The first of two meetings in 24 hours ended with Fehervar winning 4-3 in overtime on Milano’s ice. A game with no clear master through the first two periods took off in the third. Pietroniro put Milano 2-1 up before the Hungarians turned the scoreline around. With 18 seconds left in regulation, however, Milano equalised at six-on-four through Grant’s first goal of the season. Yet Milano could not contain the visitors, who settled it in overtime through Cheek, completing his brace. It is Milano’s third consecutive defeat on home ice in Rho. The rematch is on Sunday, again at 17:00 and again on the Rossoblù ice.
FIRST PERIOD: 1-0. Milano were once again without four players: Saracino, Houde, Finoro and Allison. The Rossoblù top line had a distinctly Swedish flavour, with Lindquist at centre and Frycklund and Chiodo on the wings. Milano pressed well early on, trying several shots from distance, with Dal Colle and Caamano the most active. Lindquist also had a chance following a fine play by Chiodo. Just shy of the nine-minute mark came the first goal of the evening. Wylie drove cleanly into the offensive zone and timed his pass perfectly after Kostner had created havoc in the Hungarian slot: the puck reached the onrushing Dal Colle, who made no mistake against netminder Halasz. A first penalty against Milano then gave the visitors fresh energy, before they in turn had to face Milano’s first power play. Milano took a one-goal lead into the first intermission.
SECOND PERIOD: 0-1. The game grew more intense in the second period. Hannoun came close to doubling the lead at the end of a power play, while two separate, back-to-back penalties put Milano under some pressure. The Rossoblù penalty kill very nearly produced a second goal. On the ensuing transition, Erdely appeared to have scored for the Hungarians, but the officials ruled goaltender interference on Smith, and the hosts survived. Right at the midway point of the game, Beni Halasz left the ice after making a save in the splits and was replaced by Finnish goaltender Rasmus Reijola. The Hungarians grew markedly in the second half of the period, and in the final five minutes in particular Smith was the standout performer, though he could do nothing about Farren’s deflection of a Horvath shot. The teams were level at 1-1 after two periods.
THIRD PERIOD: 2-2. After a couple of chances at each end, Milano broke the deadlock with a fine vertical move. Dello, straight out of his own zone, sent Madaschi away at centre ice, and Madaschi laid the puck off for the onrushing Pietroniro. The Italian-heritage forward broke away at the blue line and scored what looked like the new lead. After a lengthy video review, the fourth line’s goal was confirmed. The Rossoblù celebrations were short-lived, however. Less than two minutes later, a well-crafted move built by Farren put Cheek in the Milano slot: the forward deked around Smith and tucked in the 2-2 equaliser, and the game caught fire for good. The Hungarians were now playing from memory and tightened their grip. Their go-ahead goal came in the 53rd minute from Erdely, a redirection off his skate from outside the slot and therefore entirely legal. Milano pushed for the equaliser, and the chance came with two minutes left in regulation: playing six-on-four, they struck with 18 seconds remaining through a Grant rocket that sent the hosts to overtime.
OVERTIME: 0-1. The Hungarians ended the game after 74 seconds, once again through Cheek, who redirected a precise Campbell feed on the move.
