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BRATISLAVA, March 2-- Second-ranked Slovan Bratislava Hockey Club loses steam in Tipsport Liga's second stage of the regular season, coming out empty-handed in its third consecutive match, succumbing 4-1 to third-ranked Kosice on Sunday in Slovakian ice hockey league. Leading Banska Bystrica, on the other hand, wins its fifth in a row to stretch the lead on top of the Group A to nine points. Trencin managed to defeat Zvolen and tie its 90 points, moving up one spot in the standings to fifth. In Group B, the fight for the last two playoff spots remains interesting with Miskolc crushing Nitra 6-1 and taking its eighth spot in the standings. Bratislava saw its distance from Kosice dwindle in the last few rounds. With only six rounds left to play in the regular season, Bratislava leads third Kosice by only a single point now. The home team scored the go-ahead goal in the first period but Kosice capitalized on two power plays in the second and added two more goals in the final outing by the hands of Dalibor Bortnak to take home a crucial victory. In the central region of Slovakia, Banska Bystrica's first line had a field day, scoring four of the five goals against Poprad. The home team's Canadian forward Jordan Hickmott and Finn Joona Jaaskelainen both scored twice, their third linesman Cason Hohmann from the USA assisted on all four goals. Milan Bartovic's two goals pushed Trencin over the edge in a tight battle against Zvolen, securing its third victory in a row and keeping the battle for the fourth position very much alive. | 
