HK Nitra's late-game renaissance helped them secure their first win of the 2026/27 Champions Hockey League season as they took down Finnish challengers KooKoo Kouvola by a final of 4-1. The Slovakians netted four unanswered tallies, two of which came from Michal Krištof en route to the victory.

Solid netminding was the story of the first period as both clubs traded excellent chances in the opening 20 minutes - Nitra hit a post five minutes in, and Kouvola generated a couple of quality opportunities on their first powerplay late in the period. But the backstops did their job, keeping pucks out of the net to keep the score level at 0-0.

Then in the second, Roope Tossavainen broke through when he converted on a 2-on-1 and blasted a one-timer past the glove of Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev. A solid outlet pass from their own zone led to an odd-man rush for Kouvola as Santeri Sulku found Tossavainen trailing down the slot, slid the puck tape-to-tape and the forward did the rest to give his team the lead.

Later in the period, it was Nitra's turn to capitalise. First, they made good on a powerplay opportunity when Krištof deposited it into the back of the cage off a behind-the-net feed from Adrián Holešinský. Three minutes later, Ondrej Molnár made it 2-1 when he cashed in on a rebound from the near side. Jasper Patrikainen made the initial save, but the puck slid right to Molnár who made no mistake. 

The Slovakians kept piling on the goals as puck dropped in the final stanza. This time it was Jakub Lacka netting one short-handed. Lacka received an up-ice feed that sprung him into the O-zone on the far side where he picked his spot and wired it past the netminder to give his club a two-goal cushion. 

Krištof claimed his second of the game with less than five minutes to play to extend the visitors' advantage as Nitra's offence continued to find ways to expose the Finns' defence and get pucks to the net.

Kouvola attempted to claw their way back, but the Slovakians' defence was sound and Gadzhiev was spectacular as Nitra managed to capture their first game of the season in convincing fashion.