There was certainly no shortage of excitement at the start of the season.

Our season opener took place on Wednesday evening; as part of the international university league, the EUHL, we took to the ice as guests of the Philosophers Nitra at the Tipsport Arena. Our team will be competing in two leagues (the Andersen League and the EUHL) as well as the Hungarian Cup during the 23/24 season, so neither our players nor our supporters will be short of excitement.

After the national anthems had been played and the ceremonial face-off taken, the teams threw themselves into the game with tremendous vigour; in the first five minutes, the spectators could scarcely believe their eyes as both sides created chance after chance. To our great delight, we managed to convert one such chance into a goal, with Makovics finding the net after a clever move. A few minutes later, Madácsi found himself in a very good position, which he ruthlessly capitalised on, putting us 2 goals ahead at Nitra’s home ground. We had to wait until the very end of the period for a response; Kral scored for the home side, but we still went into the break with the lead.

The pace didn’t let up in the second half either, and Madácsi once again shone, extending our lead to two, but the response wasn’t long in coming: Svitac found the net, and there were no further goals before the final whistle.

In the final third of the match, it was clear that the frenetic pace and relentless physical battle had taken their toll on our team, but the lads fought heroically right to the very end. Right at the start, the home side managed to equalise through a goal by Novodomsky, then, with 10 minutes to go, they took the lead for the first time with a goal from Kovac. With two minutes to go, Kral sealed the 5–3 final score.

It was a promising start to a season that still has some big battles in store; the lads showed some great moves and tremendous fighting spirit on a completely new stage. On the 30th, they’ll be back in the EUHL, playing away once again, with another chance to prove themselves as guests of the Gladiators Trencin.

Next week, the domestic competitions will also get underway: on Wednesday 4 October, Jászberény will be our guests in the Hungarian Cup, whilst on Saturday 7 October, Sportországi Cápák will be our guests in the Andersen League at the Győr Ice Sports Centre!

Come on, UNI GYŐR ETO!

Philosophers Nitra vs UNI GYŐR ETO HC: 5 – 3 Goalscorers: **#8 Bence Makovics, #18 Benedek Madácsi (2) (UNI GYŐR ETO) #19 Kral (2), #16 Svitac, #27 Novodomsky, #3 Kovac (Nitra)

We’ve put together a selection of the best photos from the match in our gallery:

Photo: @Kania FotoSport