# 2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season

The 2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season was the 29th season of the Slovak Extraliga, the highest ice hockey league in Slovakia.

## Team changes

The newly established hockey club HC 21 Prešov replaced HC 07 Detva in Tipos extraliga from this season as Prešov should be made up of Detva players. After three seasons in Slovak Extraliga, the Hungarian team DVTK Jegesmedvék left the league to participate in the Erste Liga.
HK Spišská Nová Ves won Slovak 1. Liga in the season 2020–21 in a best-of-seven playoff against Vlci Žilina. They returned to Slovak Exraliga after eleven years, the last time they played there was in the 2009–10 season.

## Regular season
### Standings

Each team played 50 games: playing each of the other eleven teams four times – 2x at home, 2x away (44 games) and during the Christmas holidays (26.12.2021 – 9.1.2022) each team played the inserted matches within the region 1x at home, 1x away = 6 games.
Points were awarded for each game, where three points are awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finished with the most points was crowned the league champion.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Slovan Bratislava | 50 | 32 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 189 | 118 | +71 | 104 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Zvolen | 50 | 29 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 175 | 135 | +40 | 100 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Nitra | 50 | 26 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 189 | 137 | +52 | 97 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 4 | Michalovce | 50 | 25 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 136 | 140 | −4 | 88 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 5 | Košice | 50 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 20 | 155 | 132 | +23 | 82 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 6 | Poprad | 50 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 20 | 165 | 161 | +4 | 71 | Qualification to Quarter-finals |
| 7 | Spišská Nová Ves | 50 | 19 | 3 | 7 | 21 | 131 | 137 | −6 | 70 | Qualification to Wild card round |
| 8 | Banská Bystrica | 50 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 142 | 146 | −4 | 69 | Qualification to Wild card round |
| 9 | Trenčín | 50 | 18 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 124 | 138 | −14 | 66 | Qualification to Wild card round |
| 10 | Prešov | 50 | 16 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 115 | 167 | −52 | 56 | Qualification to Wild card round |
| 11 | Nové Zámky | 50 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 30 | 125 | 168 | −43 | 53 | |
| 12 | Liptovský Mikuláš | 50 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 32 | 112 | 179 | −67 | 41 | Qualification to Play Out |

### Statistics
#### Scoring leaders

The following shows the top ten players who led the league in points, at the conclusion of the regular season.
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | +/– | PIM |
| Samuel Buček | HK Nitra | 50 | 41 | 23 | 64 | +26 | 34 |
| Brant Harris | HC Slovan Bratislava | 49 | 21 | 38 | 59 | +21 | 26 |
| William Rapuzzi | HC Slovan Bratislava | 50 | 25 | 31 | 56 | +31 | 12 |
| Patrik Svitana | HK Poprad | 49 | 16 | 39 | 55 | +12 | 16 |
| Andrew Yogan | HC Slovan Bratislava | 48 | 20 | 32 | 52 | +26 | 32 |
| Marcel Haščák | HC Slovan Bratislava | 32 | 23 | 27 | 50 | +22 | 20 |
| Tony Cameranesi | HK Dukla Michalovce | 49 | 16 | 30 | 46 | +3 | 34 |
| Cole Ully | HK Poprad | 46 | 18 | 27 | 45 | +11 | 24 |
| Michal Chovan | HC Košice | 49 | 14 | 31 | 45 | +5 | 24 |
| Robby Jackson | HC Nové Zámky | 50 | 23 | 21 | 44 | −8 | 14 |

#### Leading goaltenders

The following shows the top ten goaltenders who led the league in goals against average, provided that they have played at least 40% of their team's minutes, at the conclusion of the regular season.
| Player | Team | GP | TOI | W | L | GA | SO | Sv% | GAA |
| Clint Windsor | HC Slovan Bratislava | 23 | 1296:25 | 17 | 6 | 47 | 4 | 92.62 | 2.18 |
| Marcel Melicherčík | HK Spišská Nová Ves | 38 | 2194:10 | 20 | 18 | 81 | 4 | 93.75 | 2.21 |
| Evan Weninger | HC '05 Banská Bystrica | 25 | 1516:15 | 14 | 11 | 58 | 2 | 92.46 | 2.30 |
| Matt O'Connor | HK Nitra | 27 | 1381:13 | 16 | 11 | 57 | 0 | 92.29 | 2.48 |
| Michal Valent | HK Dukla Trenčín | 34 | 1801:21 | 15 | 19 | 75 | 2 | 91.50 | 2.50 |
| Devin Williams | HK Dukla Michalovce | 22 | 1303:21 | 13 | 9 | 56 | 0 | 91.32 | 2.58 |
| Andrej Košarišťan | HC Košice | 35 | 1906:26 | 16 | 19 | 84 | 2 | 91.84 | 2.64 |
| David Honzík | HK Nitra | 30 | 1636:58 | 22 | 8 | 74 | 2 | 91.41 | 2.71 |
| Robin Rahm | HKM Zvolen | 40 | 2391:40 | 26 | 14 | 110 | 4 | 91.81 | 2.76 |
| Tomáš Vošvrda | HK Dukla Michalovce | 38 | 2161:14 | 14 | 24 | 106 | 3 | 90.54 | 2.94 |

## Relegation series

Relegation series played between MHk 32 Liptovský Mikuláš, the 12th team in regular season, and Vlci Žilina, the winner of 1. Liga. The winner of the best-of-seven series will play in the 2022–23 Slovak Extraliga.

## 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.

### Bracket

| Wild-card round (best-of-5) | Wild-card round (best-of-5) | Wild-card round (best-of-5) | Quarter-finals (best-of-7) | Quarter-finals (best-of-7) | Quarter-finals (best-of-7) | Semi-finals (best-of-7) | Semi-finals (best-of-7) | Semi-finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) | Finals (best-of-7) |
| | | | 1 | Slovan Bratislava | 4 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Spišská Nová Ves | 0 | 10 | Prešov | 0 | | | | | | |
| 10 | Prešov | 3 | | | | 1 | Slovan Bratislava | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Košice | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Michalovce | 2 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| | | | 5 | Košice | 4 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| | | | | | | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | 1 | Slovan Bratislava | 4 |
| | | | | | | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | 3 | Nitra | 2 |
| | | | 2 | Zvolen | 4 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| 8 | Banská Bystrica | 3 | 8 | Banská Bystrica | 1 | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | (Pairings are re-seeded after the first and second round) | | | |
| 9 | Trenčín | 1 | | | | 2 | Zvolen | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Nitra | 4 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Nitra | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Poprad | 3 | | | | | | |

### Wild card round

Spišská Nová Ves – Prešov 0–3 :
| 16.3.2022 | Spišská Nová Ves | Prešov | 0-3 |
| 17.3.2022 | Spišská Nová Ves | Prešov | 3-4 OT |
| 19.3.2022 | Prešov | Spišská Nová Ves | 3-2 |
| Prešov won the series 3–0. ||||
Banská Bystrica – Trenčín 3–1 :
| 16.3.2022 | Banská Bystrica | Trenčín | 3-2 |
| 17.3.2022 | Banská Bystrica | Trenčín | 4-2 |
| 19.3.2022 | Trenčín | Banská Bystrica | 3-2 OT |
| 20.3.2022 | Trenčín | Banská Bystrica | 1-3 |
| Banská Bystrica won the series 3–1. ||||

### Quarterfinals

Slovan Bratislava – Prešov 4–0 :
| 25.3.2022 | Slovan Bratislava | Prešov | 6-2 |
| 26.3.2022 | Slovan Bratislava | Prešov | 2-1 |
| 29.3.2022 | Prešov | Slovan Bratislava | 2-3 OT |
| 30.3.2022 | Prešov | Slovan Bratislava | 0-2 |
| Slovan Bratislava won the series 4–0. ||||
Nitra – Poprad 4–3 :
| 23.3.2022 | Nitra | Poprad | 0-4 |
| 24.3.2022 | Nitra | Poprad | 7-1 |
| 27.3.2022 | Poprad | Nitra | 4-6 |
| 28.3.2022 | Poprad | Nitra | 4-2 |
| 31.3.2022 | Nitra | Poprad | 3-4 |
| 2.4.2022 | Poprad | Nitra | 1-5 |
| 4.4.2022 | Nitra | Poprad | 3-1 |
| Nitra won the series 4–3. ||||
Zvolen – Banská Bystrica 4–1 :
| 25.3.2022 | Zvolen | Banská Bystrica | 5-1 |
| 26.3.2022 | Zvolen | Banská Bystrica | 1-2 |
| 29.3.2022 | Banská Bystrica | Zvolen | 1-2 |
| 30.3.2022 | Banská Bystrica | Zvolen | 2-6 |
| 1.4.2022 | Zvolen | Banská Bystrica | 3-2 OT |
| Zvolen won the series 4–1. ||||
Michalovce – Košice 2–4 :
| 23.3.2022 | Michalovce | Košice | 1-4 |
| 24.3.2022 | Michalovce | Košice | 1-3 |
| 27.3.2022 | Košice | Michalovce | 2-1 OT |
| 28.3.2022 | Košice | Michalovce | 2-6 |
| 31.3.2022 | Michalovce | Košice | 4-1 |
| 2.4.2022 | Košice | Michalovce | 2-1 OT |
| Košice won the series 4–2. ||||

### Semifinals

Slovan Bratislava – Košice 4–3 :
| 7.4.2022 | Slovan Bratislava | Košice | 5-2 |
| 8.4.2022 | Slovan Bratislava | Košice | 6-2 |
| 11.4.2022 | Košice | Slovan Bratislava | 3-1 |
| 12.4.2022 | Košice | Slovan Bratislava | 3-1 |
| 15.4.2022 | Slovan Bratislava | Košice | 3-2 |
| 17.4.2022 | Košice | Slovan Bratislava | 4-2 |
| 19.4.2022 | Slovan Bratislava | Košice | 3-2 OT |
| Slovan Bratislava won the series 4–3. ||||
Zvolen – Nitra 2–4 :
| 9.4.2022 | Zvolen | Nitra | 2-3 |
| 10.4.2022 | Zvolen | Nitra | 6-5 |
| 13.4.2022 | Nitra | Zvolen | 3-2 |
| 14.4.2022 | Nitra | Zvolen | 2-3 |
| 16.4.2022 | Zvolen | Nitra | 2-5 |
| 18.4.2022 | Nitra | Zvolen | 2-1 |
| Nitra won the series 4–2. ||||

### Finals
## Final rankings

| | Slovan Bratislava |
| | Nitra |
| | Zvolen |
| 4 | Košice |
| 5 | Michalovce |
| 6 | Poprad |
| 7 | Banská Bystrica |
| 8 | Prešov |
| 9 | Spišská Nová Ves |
| 10 | Trenčín |
| 11 | Nové Zámky |
| 12 | Liptovský Mikuláš |
* 2021–22 Slovak Extraliga season winners
* HC Slovan Bratislava 9th title