2023–24 Slovak 1. Liga season

2023–24 Slovak 1. Liga season
League Slovak 1. Liga
SportIce hockey
Duration
  • 22 September 2023 – 3 March 2024
  • (Regular season)
  • 6 March – 19 April 2024
    (playoffs)
Teams12+1
Total attendance247 413
Average attendance749
TV partner(s)JOJ Šport, Niké TV
Regular season
League ChampionVlci Žilina
  Runners-upHC Prešov
Top scorerAndrei Legalin (Topoľčany) (68 points)
Playoffs
Finals
ChampionsVlci Žilina (3rd title)
  Runners-upHC Prešov

The 2023–24 Slovak 1. Liga season was the 31st season of the Slovak 1. Liga, the second level of ice hockey in Slovakia.[1] With a record-breaking number of points, Vlci Žilina topped the regular season standings. They advanced to the playoff finals, where they beat second-seeded HC Prešov in four straight games to secure promotion to the 2024–25 Slovak Extraliga.

Regular season

Standings

Each team played 46 games: playing each of the other eleven teams four times – twice at home, twice away. There were also two matches each against the Slovakia men's national under-18 ice hockey team, which counted towards the standings; these matches were designed to support the preparation of the junior national team for 2024 IIHF World U18 Championships.[2] At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion. Vlci Žilina topped the regular season standings, losing just three times in 46 games. Their total of 123 points set a league record.[3]

Pos Team Pld W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Žilina 46 37 6 0 3 212 74 +138 123 Qualification to Quarter-finals
2 Prešov 46 24 5 7 10 186 127 +59 89
3 Topoľčany 46 24 4 5 13 175 143 +32 85
4 Považská Bystrica 46 22 5 3 16 147 145 +2 76
5 Skalica 46 22 4 1 19 149 148 +1 75
6 Dubnica 46 18 6 5 17 128 128 0 71
7 Modré krídla Slovan 46 19 3 4 20 133 119 +14 67 Qualification to
Wild card round
8 Žiar nad Hronom 46 19 3 3 21 145 145 0 66
9 Trebišov 46 16 3 3 24 138 175 −37 57[a]
10 AquaCity Pikes 46 14 5 5 22 130 158 −28 57[a]
11 Trnava 46 11 5 7 23 148 182 −34 50
12 Rimavská Sobota 46 11 1 6 28 121 180 −59 41 Relegated to Slovak 2. Liga
  SR 18 24 1 1 2 20 41 129 −88 7
Source: Slovenská hokejová liga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points
Notes:
  1. ^ a b Trebišov 7 points, AquaCity Pikes 5

Playoffs

Ten teams qualify for the playoffs: the top six teams in the regular season have a bye to the quarterfinals, while teams ranked seventh to tenth meet each other (7 versus 10, 8 versus 9) in a preliminary playoff round. In the final, Žilina beat HC Prešov 4–0 in a best-of-seven series to win the playoffs and secure promotion to the following season's Extraliga.[4] It symbolised their return to the top tier of Slovak ice hockey for the first time since the 2018–19 season.[5]

Bracket

Wild-card round (best-of-5) Quarter-finals (best-of-7) Semi-finals (best-of-7) Finals (best-of-7)
1 Žilina 4
8 Žiar nad Hronom 3 8 Žiar nad Hronom 1
9 Trebišov 0 1 Žilina 4
6 Dubnica 2
3 Topoľčany 2 (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round)
6 Dubnica 4
1 Žilina 4
2 Prešov 0
2 Prešov 4
7 Modré krídla Slovan 3 7 Modré krídla Slovan 0
10 AquaCity Pikes 1 2 Prešov 4
4 Považská Bystrica 1
4 Považská Bystrica 4
5 Skalica 1


Wild card round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Finals

14 April 2024
17:30 (CEST)		Žilina8–1
(0–1, 5–0, 3–0)
score in the series: 1–0		PrešovNiké Aréna, Žilina
Attendance: 4,900
Game reference
Michal ValentGoaliesJuraj Ovečka
Juraj Hollý
0–118:11 – Hrabčák (Sigaryov, Jerofejevs) (PP2)
Safaraleev (Rajnoha) – 23:271–1
Belluš (Jansons, Malina) – 28:382–1
Galamboš (Bezúch, Varga) – 30:563–1
Mráz (Koyš, Melcher) – 34:424–1
Koyš (Dyakov) – 37:535–1
Jakúbek (Paukovček) – 44:016–1
Varga (Galamboš, Bezúch) – 44:247–1
Varga (SH) – 53:118–1
18 minPenalties10 min
32Shots38
15 April 2024
17:30 (CEST)		Žilina5–0
(2–0, 0–0, 3–0)
score in the series: 2–0		PrešovNiké Aréna, Žilina
Attendance: 4,063
Game reference
Michal ValentGoaliesJuraj Ovečka
Bezúch (Varga, Pobežal) – 00:361–0
Bezúch (Dyakov, Mráz) (PP) – 08:042–0
Koyš (EN) – 54:203–0
Paukovček (Beták, Belluš) – 56:244–0
Belluš (Beták, Galamboš) (SH, EN) – 58:545–0
12 minPenalties27 min
30Shots28
18 April 2024
17:30 (CEST)		Prešov0–1
(0–0, 0–0, 0–1)
score in the series: 0–3		Žilina
Attendance: 2,502
Game reference
29 minPenalties31 min
35Shots27
19 April 2024
18:00 (CEST)		Prešov1–5
(1–0, 0–4, 0–1)
score in the series: 0–4		Žilina
Attendance: 3,117
Game reference
6 minPenalties6 min
32Shots35

Final rankings

Žilina
Prešov
Považská Bystrica
4 Dubnica
5 Topoľčany
6 Skalica
7 Modré krídla Slovan
8 Žiar nad Hronom
9 Trebišov
10 AquaCity Pikes
11 Trnava
12 Rimavská Sobota
  SR 18

References

  1. ^ "Slovenská hokejová liga". hockeyslovakia.sk (in Slovak).
  2. ^ "Smernica pre prvú ligu seniorov" (PDF). hockeyslovakia.sk (in Slovak).
  3. ^ Hank, Matej (13 March 2024). "Dominovať v základnej časti nič neznamená. Otrepe sa Žilina z trpkej minulosti?". Sportnet (in Slovak). Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  4. ^ Rusnák, Ondrej (20 April 2024). "Borila sa s nezáujmom, bola terčom vtipov. Aký je príbeh žilinského postupu?". Sportnet (in Slovak). Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  5. ^ "Žilina postúpila do extraligy, Prešov zdolala 4:0 na zápasy". Teraz (in Slovak). TASR. 19 April 2024. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
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