Quarterfinals begin Thursday

On Tuesday night, PSG Zlín defeated Oceláři Třinec 4-1 in the fifth and decisive game of their preliminary round series. In addition to dethroning the reigning champions of the Czech Republic, it also rounded out the field of the final eight teams and locked in the quarterfinal match-ups. Read Jon Rowson's recap of the game at Eurockey.com.

In addition to being a fellow Eurohockey writer, Rowson also blogs about Czech and Slovak hockey at Velvet Hockey, and he recently made predictions about the upcoming quarterfinal round. Rowson has picked all four higher seeds to advance, which is hard to argue with, though it hasn't been the norm in recent years.

Trying to pick the winners of Czech playoff series is often a guessing game, as upsets are common. Every year, there seems to be a club that comes out of nowhere to go deep into the playoffs. Last year, seventh-seeded Slavia Praha upset second-seeded Liberec in the quarters and then led first-place Třinec three games to one in the semifinals before ultimately succumbing. Třinec became the first team since 2002 to finish first during the regular season and then win the playoff tournament as well.

This year, though Sparta and Plzeň would seem to be favourites in their series, nothing is guaranteed, and the other two series are almost up in the air.

The quarterfinal match-ups are as follows:

(1) Sparta Praha vs (8) Kometa Brno
(2) Plzeň 1929 vs (7) Zlín
(3) Pardubice vs (6) Vítkovice
(4) Bílí Tygři Liberec vs (5) České Budějovice

Pardubice-Vítkovice and Liberec-České Budějovice play their first two games on Thursday and Friday, followed by the other two series on Saturday and Sunday. The above mentioned Rowson, Petr Polák and myself will combine to provide daily coverage of the action at Eurohockey.com.

From hokej.cz, here is the schedule of the quarterfinal games that we know will take place. All times are Central European and all games will be webcast at tv.hokej.cz.

Thursday, March 8 - 1st games:

18:10 HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice - HC Vítkovice Steel (Nova Sport)

18:30 Bílí Tygři Liberec - HC Mountfield České Budějovice

Friday, March 9 - 2nd games:

18:10 Bílí Tygři Liberec - HC Mountfield České Budějovice (ČT4)

18:30 HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice - HC Vítkovice Steel 

Saturday, March 10 - 1st games:

17:30 HC Sparta Praha - HC Kometa Brno (Nova Sport)
17:30 HC Plzeň 1929 - PSG Zlín

Sunday, March 11 - 2nd games:

17:00 HC Sparta Praha - HC Kometa Brno
18:10 HC Plzeň 1929 - PSG Zlín (ČT4)

Monday, March 12 - 3rd games:

17:30 HC Vítkovice Steel - HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice
18:10 HC Mountfield České Budějovice - Bílí Tygři Liberec (Nova Sport)

Tuesday, March 13 - 4th games:

17:30 HC Mountfield České Budějovice - Bílí Tygři Liberec

17:40 HC Vítkovice Steel - HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice (ČT4)

Wednesday, March 14 - 3rd games:

17:40 PSG Zlín - HC Plzeň 1929 (ČT4)

18:00 HC Kometa Brno - HC Sparta Praha

Thursday, March 15 - 4th games:

17:30 PSG Zlín - HC Plzeň 1929

18:10 HC Kometa Brno - HC Sparta Praha  (ČT4)

National team and clubs dispute over players for December tournaments

It's not often that European hockey clubs and national teams dispute over the availability of the players. In contrast with North America, where the NHL is king, wearing the national colours in Europe has always taken priority and, normally, domestic leagues shut down for international tournaments. However, on the third weekend in December, there are international and club tournaments scheduled to operate at the same time, and Otakar Duben of ceskatelevize.cz is reporting that some of the Czech clubs involved have made it clear that they intend to take their full rosters.

Alois Hadamczik might not have all the players he wants in
Chomutov and Moscow. Photo: Kateřina Šulová, ceskatelevize.cz.

From December 15 to 18, the Channel One Cup, which is the second leg of the 2011-12 Euro Hockey Tour, will be held in Moscow. It features the national teams of Russia, Sweden, Finland and the Czech Republic. That same weekend, the Red Bulls Salute, the playoff round to determine the winner of the 2011 European Trophy, will be held in Vienna and Salzburg, Austria. Among the quarter-finalists that have advanced from the pre-season tournament are one team each from Austria and Finland, three from Sweden, and three Czech clubs: České Budějovice, Pardubice, and Plzeň.

At the recently completed Karjala Cup in Finland, the Czech roster included goaltender Jakub Kovář and forward Aleš Kotalík of České Budějovice and forward Petr Koukal of Pardubice. It appears that they might not be there the next time.

"I have a responsibility to the owners, partners and fans (of the Pardubice club)," said general manager Zbyněk Kusy. "I cannot let an elite player miss a top club event and replace him with somebody from the First League." Meanwhile, Budějovice's general manger, Josef Zajíc said, "If Kovář is going to be used as a back-up as he was at the Karjala, it will be better for him to play the tournament in Austria."

National team coach Alois Hadamczik, for one, is aghast that some clubs are threatening to withhold players from the national team for what he considers to be an inferior tournament. "If someone would rather play in a third-rate tournament, that's pretty sad. To argue that the European Trophy is more beneficial to the player than games with Russia, Sweden and Finland? Those are far more important confrontations."

Kusy told newspaper Sport that the issue has already been settled, claiming "(National team general manager) Slavomír Lener announced to the APK that the European Trophy finalists will have all their players and they will not be selected for the Channel One Cup."

Lener, however, claims that he did not make such a promise, and that ultimately Hadamczik is free to choose the team he wishes. As for who he will choose, Hadamczik says, "I have a moral obligation to select who I think are the best players available."

Making the dispute more interesting to Czech hockey fans might be the fact that one of the opening games of the Channel One Cup will be played in Chomutov. The North Bohemian city's brand new arena will play host to the Czech Republic-Sweden game on December 15.

The Finnish and Swedish rosters might also be affected by this conflict, as they both have players on their national teams that are in the Red Bulls Salute. From Finland's Karjala Cup roster, defenceman Ossi Väänänen plays for Jokerit, forward Topi Jaakola plays for Luleå, and forward Mika Pyörälä plays for Frölunda. From Sweden, goaltender Johan Gustafsson and forwards Simon Hjalmarsson and Johan Harju play for Luleå, defenceman Klas Dahlbeck and forward Andreas Jämti play for Linköpings, and defenceman Christian Bäckman plays for Frölunda. The fact that two Finns play for Swedish clubs involved could complicate things further.

It remains to be seen how Czech television handles the concurrent tournaments. ČT4 normally shows most Euro Hockey Tour games, and all games involving the Czech Republic. However, they also televised several European Trophy games in August and September, and it would seem odd to ignore the playoff portion of the tournament with three Czech teams involved.

Here is the schedule for the Channel One Cup (all times are Central European):

Thursday, December 15:

17:00 Russia - Finland (Moscow)

18:20 Czech Republic - Sweden (Chomutov)

Saturday, December 17:

11:00 Russia - Sweden (Moscow)

15:00 Czech Republic - Finland (Moscow)

Sunday, December 18:

11:00 Russia - Czech Republic (Moscow)

15:00 Sweden - Finland (Moscow)

And here is the schedule for the Red Bulls Salute:

Friday, December 16:

17:15 Jokerit Helsinki - HC České Budějovice (quarterfinal, Vienna)

17:15 Frölunda Indians - Linköpings HC (quarterfinal, Salzburg)

20:30 HC Plzeň 1929 - Luleå HF (quarterfinal, Vienna)

20:30 HC Pardubice - EC Red Bull Salzburg (quarterfinal, Salzburg)

Saturday, December 17:

17:15 Winners of quarterfinals in Vienna (semifinal, Vienna)

17:15 Winners of quarterfinals in Salzburg (semifinal, Salzburg)

20:30 Losers of quarterfinals in Vienna (qualification, Vienna)

20:30 Losers of quarterfinals in Salzburg (qualification, Salzburg)

Sunday, December 18:

14:00 Losers of qualification games (7th/8th place, Salzburg)

17:15 Winners of qualification games (5th/6th place, Salzburg)

17:15 Losers of semifinal games (3rd/4th place, Vienna)

20:30 Winners of semifinal games (championship game, Vienna)

3 Czech teams in Red Bull Salute

Teams from the Czech Extraliga have acquitted themselves well so far at the 2011 European Trophy. Heading into the final weekend of play, Plzeň 1929 and Pardubice had already clinched spots among the final eight. On Saturday night, České Budějovice joined them, beating Kometa Brno 3-1.

Jakub Kovář has been nearly unbeatable in the Budějovice goal.
Photo: Roman Kantor, hc-kometa.cz.

"I think that is was very good preparation," said Budějovice assistant coach Milan Kupka. "The key for us was surviving the first penalty and scoring the first goal. And of course, we were also helped by a great performance from our goalkeeper."

Great performances from the goalkeeper have become commonplace in České Budějovice. Last season, Jakub Kovář was voted the top goaltender in the Czech Extraliga and earned a spot on the Czech national team. This year, he has so far played in all seven of his club's games at the European Trophy and surrendered only 12 goals. His 1.63 goals-against average and .940 are the best in the tournament among goaltenders that have appeared in more than four games.

Bílí Tygři Liberec entered the weekend with an outside shot of advancing, but dropped both games on home ice and will finish fifth in the South Division. On Saturday, they were finished when they lost 3-2 to Luleå HF. Then on Sunday, they were edged 5-4 by Eisbären Berlin in the last game for both teams.

Slavia Praha also played its last game of the tournament on Sunday in Mannheim. Though they were locked in last place in the North Division, they had a chance to play spoilers against Adler, who could have advanced to the Red Bull Salute with a win. Slavia picked up just its second win of the tournament, however, knocking Adler out with a 5-3 win. They were led by 3 goals and 1 assist from Tomáš Svoboda, whose 4-point effort gives him 9 for the tournament; tied for sixth in overall scoring.

The game was a rough affair, in which 290 minutes in penalties were racked up by both teams. The final few minutes were marred by multiple fights in which resulted in the banishments of Jiří Vašiček,  Michal Poletin and Dmitrij Jaškin of Slavia.

The melée at the end of the game was captured by a few fans in Mannheim, who posted their videos to youtube:

 

There are still two more games to be played in the group stage of the European Trophy on Tuesday. They both involve only Czech teams, but neither will have any effect on who adances to the Red Bull Salute. Sparta Praha visits České Budějovice and Pardubice visits Plzeň. Plzeň can still eclipse Budějovice in points and finish atop the division, but both teams will advance, regardless.

The Red Bull Salute will be played December 16 to 18 in Salzburg and Vienna, Austria. It is a three-round single-knockout involving eight teams. This is the schedule, which will be finalised after Tuesday's games:

Friday, December 16:
17:15 Jokerit Helsinki - Plzeň / České Budějovice (quarterfinal, Vienna)
17:15 Frölunda Indians - Linköpings HC (quarterfinal, Salzburg)
20:30 Plzeň / České Budějovice - Luleå HF (quarterfinal, Vienna)
20:30 HC Pardubice - EC Red Bull Salzburg (quarterfinal, Salzburg)

Saturday, December 17:
17:15 Winners of quarterfinals in Vienna (semifinal, Vienna)
17:15 Winners of quarterfinals in Salzburg (semifinal, Salzburg)
20:30 Losers of quarterfinals in Vienna (qualification, Vienna)
20:30 Losers of quarterfinals in Salzburg (qualification, Salzburg)

Sunday, December 18:
14:00 Losers of qualification games (7th/8th place, Salzburg)
17:15 Winners of qualification games (5th/6th place, Salzburg)
17:15 Losers of semifinal games (3rd/4th place, Vienna)
20:30 Winners of semifinal games (championship game, Vienna)

Pardubice advances, Č-Bud close

Thursday was a good day for two Czech teams in European Trophy competition, but not so good for a third.

HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice had the easiest night, as they clinched a spot in the Red Bull Salute without even stepping onto the ice. HV71's 2-0 loss to Färjestads means that the Swedish club in third place in the South Division can no longer catch Pardubice. As the top two teams in each division advance, Pardubice is in.

They could have actually clinched first place in the group, but Adler Mannheim stayed within striking distance by winning 3-1 in Liberec. The visitors from Baden-Württemberg scored a goal in each of the first two periods, then held off a barrage from Bílí Tygři over the final 30 minutes. Tomáš Vak beat goaltender Patrick Galbraith with 13:11 on the clock, but that's as close as they'd come. An empty-netter sealed the deal.

"We didn't get the start that we wanted from the players. The intensity wasn't there for the whole game," said coach Filip Pešán. "We got back to the game plan after that, but we didn't deserve to win."

The loss does not mathematically eliminate Bílí Tygři, but it really puts them in a tight spot. Had they won, they would have moved into a second-place tie with HV71 with a game in hand.

Budějovice's Aleš Kranjc (#38) battles for the puck with
Salzburg's Steven Regier in European Trophy action Thursday.
Photo: redbulls.com/hockey. 

Meanwhile, HC Mountfield České Budějovice did themselves a huge favour by going into Salzburg and defeating Red Bull 6-4. Leading 3-2 after two periods, the visitors from South Bohemia outscored Salzburg 3-2 in a wild third period to take the game. Milan Gulaš assisted on the game's opening goal, then scored the game-winner in the 53rd minute and added an empty netter to record a 3-point night.

With the win, Budějovice has put itself into a great position to make a return trip to Salzburg in December. They now sit in second place in the East Division, 2 points ahead of Slovan Bratislava with a game in hand. They also have a game in hand on division-leading Plzeň, who are 2 points ahead and have already secured a spot in the Red Bull Salute. They have a chance to clinch on Saturday, when they travel to Brno to take on Kometa. A win will put them through, as will a loss by Slovan, who play their final game of the tournament that night in Helsinki against Jokerit.

Plzeň clinches spot in Red Bull Salute, Pardubice on the verge

Two Czech teams at opposite ends of the European Trophy spectrum clashed on Wednesday night at Prague's Eden Arena. The visitors from Plzeň came into the contest with an opportunity to clinch a spot in the Red Bull Salute--an eight-team single-knockout competition that will take place in December in Austria. Host Slavia Praha, meanwhile, was way out of contention and saw the game as nothing more than preparation for the approaching Extraliga season.

Petr Sýkora. Photo: hcplzen.cz.

Plzeň led 2-1 after 40 minutes, but Vladimír Růžička Jr. tied the game in the first minute of the third period, then Tomáš Kůrka put Slavia ahead with 10:20 to play. Both goals were assisted by Petr Kadlec, who now has 5 points in seven games, which ties him for second in tournament scoring among defencemen. Petr Sýkora then tied the game with just over seven minutes on the clock, and a pair of Plzeň goals in quick succession put the game away for the visitors from West Bohemia; 5-3 was the final.

For Plzeň, the line of Jaroslav Hlinka, Ondřej Kratěna and Pavel Mrňa scored three of their goals, all at even strength. All three players are summer acquisitions for Plzeň, and all are products of the Sparta Praha organisation. "We came here to win," said Kratěna after the game. On his linemates, whom he is familiar with from their Sparta days, he said, "Jarda is the kind of player who you really can't put a price on, and Pavel is very studious, fits in well with us."

The other two were power-play markers by Sýkora, both assisted by Martin Straka. Straka, who turns 39 on Saturday, is now tied for third place in tournament scoring with 8 points.

The win means that Plzeň becomes the first team to qualify for the Red Bull Salute, as they are now 4 points clear of second-place Slovan Bratislava, who have only one game left. Third-place Mountfield České Budějovice could still catch them, as they are 5 points back but still have three games to play. With two games in hand on Slovan, Mountfield is in a good position to take the East Division's second playoff spot.

On Thursday, Mountfield will make up one of those games when they travel to Salzburg to take on Red Bull, while Bílí Tygři Liberec hosts Adler Mannheim in an important South Division match-up.

While they have not mathematically clinched a spot in the Red Bull Salute yet, HC Pojišťovna Pardubice has one all but wrapped up and can secure it on Thursday, even though they are idle. If Mannheim concedes a point to Liberec or HV71 concedes 2 at Färjestads, they're in. They just need Mannheim to get fewer than 6 points over their final two games,  HV71 to get fewer than 5 points over their final two games, or failing that pick up a single point in their last game at Plzeň on Tuesday. Any one of those scenarios will help Pardubice join Plzeň in the Elite Eight.

To that end, Liberec can aid Pardubice's hopes on Thursday with a win, but helping their countrymen is the furthest thing from their mind. Liberec only trails Mannheim by a pair of points and can leap-frog over them and into a second-place tie with HV71 with a win.

Mountfield's game in Salzburg can be seen streaming online, starting at 19:15 CET at europeantrophy.com/livesalzburg.php.

Complete tournament standings and statistics can be found here.

The tournament schedule, with live commentary on games in progress and summaries of completed games, can be found here.

Plzeň & Mountfield battle for group's top spot

While some Czech teams have struggled in European Trophy competition, others have flourished. EuropeanTrophy.com's Per Csongrádi examines the fortunes of two clubs, HC Plzeň 1929 and HC Mountfield České Budějovice, who are currently poised to take the top two spots in the East Division and advance to the Red Bull Salute:

Plzeň (white) and Mountfield (red) battling in their European Trophy

opener in České Budějovice on August 12. Photo: František Panec,
hokejcb.cz. 

Plzeň took over the top of the table on Sunday after defeating Finnish team Tappara 4–0 at home and are in a good position to go through, having two games left to play. ”We look to be in one of the two top positions when we sum up the group, but it is still a tough battle between three, or even four teams, as to which teams will make it to the play-off,” says Plzeň forward Tomáš Vlasák.

Plzen could have been in an even stronger position had they won Saturday's game at home to Slovan Bratislava, a game the Slovaks won in a penalty shootout. That win handed them a lifeline in the race for a place in Salzburg and Vienna mid-December.

But after having won their first four games in the tournament, all four played at home in Bratislava where they picked up 11 out of a possible 12 points, the Slovaks have struggled to repeat those performances away from home. Now they have a tough task ahead of them if they are to pick up the necessary points to finish in the top-two. They play Jokerit away in their only remaining game of the tournament.

And it might not even be enough with a win in Helsinki. The second Czech team in the division, HC Mountfield, is only 1 point behind Slovan Bratislava having played two games less and having recorded a vital win at home to Slovan Bratislava (2–1) last Thursday. Mountfield now have four straight wins after losing the opening game to Plzeň in overtime, and are feeling good about themselves heading into their last three games. ”We are very pleased with the way that we have played so far and we hope we can pick up a few more points, enough to secure a place in the playoff,” says defenceman Jan Novák.

Plzeň and Mountfield must be considered favourites to take the top two spots. They are the only two teams in the tournament that haven’t lost a game after 60 minutes so far.

If they start picking up some points, Finnish side KalPa still has a remote chance of advancing. KalPa also have three games left, but probably have to win all three in order to have any chance of reaching the Red Bull Salute.

Fellow Finns Oulun Kärpät also have 8 points, but only have one game left and no chance of reaching the playoff. The same applies to Vienna Capitals with 4 points and only one game left.

Stats and schedule:


1. HC Plzeň 1929 – 14 points (21–10)
Remaining games: 31/8: Slavia Praha (a), 6/9: HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice (h).


2. Slovan Bratislava – 13 points (23–13)
Remaining game: 3/9: Jokerit (a).


3. HC Mountfield – 12 points (13–7)
Remaining games: 1/9: Red Bull Salzburg (a), 3/9: Kometa Brno (a), 6/9: Sparta Praha (h).


4. KalPa – 8 points (10–12)
Remaining games: 31/8: Oulun Kärpät (h), 3/9: Frölunda Indians (a), 4/9: HV71 (a).


5. Oulun Kärpät – 8 points (17–20)
Remaining game: 31/8: KalPa (a).


6. Vienna Capitals – 4 points (14–28)
Remaining game: 3/9: HIFK (a).

More information on the tournament is available at EuropeanTrophy.com.

A Good night for Czech teams

by Per Csongrádi
EuropeanTrophy.com

Thursday night was a good night for the Czech teams in the European Trophy. Five of the Czech teams were in action. Four of them won. And HC Mountfield České Budějovice and HC Plzeň 1929 applied a lot of preassure on Slovan Bratislava at the top of the East Division.

Slovan looked very strong at the start of the tournament when they picked up 11 points out of a possible 12 in their first four games. But all of those four games were played at home in the Slovak capital of Bratislava.
Thursday night they travelled to Budejovice and for the second game in a row suffered a defeat as the hometeam, HC Mountfield, won the game 2–1.

Mountfield showed from the first face-off that they were intent on grabbing the chance to catch Slovan Bratislava at the top of the table. The homeside came out flying and was in complete control of the first period. They won the shots 22–5 and even played 5-on-3 for over a minute. But it wasn’t until only 1:12 remained in the period that the first goal came. Pavel Kasparik won a faceoff and Jan Novák fired the puck past Branislav Konrad in the Slovan goal.

The home side created the most and the best chances in the second period as well and also took a 2–0-lead on a power play when, once again, Novak shot from the blueline. This time, man-of-the-match Konrad saved the shot, but couldn’t prevent Jakub Langhammer from scoring on the rebound.

But Slovan bounced back quickly when team captain Michal Hudec, who spent five seasons playing for the Budějovice team, cut the lead in half only 27 seconds after the second goal for the home team, to set up an interesting last 20 minutes.

The expected push for an equalizer didn’t really come, though, and despite playing 3-on-5 and despite Slovan pulling Konrad in goal with a minute and a half left, Mountfield could hold on to the lead and the three points.

The result put them only two points behind Slovan with two games in hand.

Radek Duda's 2-point effort helped Plzeň beat

Vienna 3-1 on Thursday. Photo:  isport.blesk.cz.

The result also gave compatriots HC Plzeň 1929 the chance to close the gap to one point at the top of the division if they managed to defeat Vienna Capitals at home. And that was exactly what they did. After a goalless first period, Petr Sýkora opened the scoring in the second, assisted by Radek Duda on a power play. The lead was doubled when Sýkora returned the favor and Duda scored on another power play early in the third period.

A third power-play goal on the night cut the lead in half, when Jonathan Ferland made it 2–1, but Plzeň didn’t let the Austrians any closer and with nine seconds left, Tomáš Vlasák made sure of the win when he scored a third in the empty net.

”We have a big desire to win, no matter who we play and I think we ade our fans happy today” said Duda after the game. ”On the other side, we can do things better and we hope we can prove that in the next game.” That is the very important game at home against Slovan Bratislava on Saturday. A win there will put Plzeň top of the division and in a nice position to qualify for the Red Bull Salute. A defeat can be costly.

In the North Division, top of the table Djurgården has no games this week, giving the chasing teams the possibility to make up some ground on them. Finnish Jokerit took that chance and defeated Slavia Praha 4–2 in a game that was won in two minutes and two seconds towards the end of the first period. Teemu Pulkkinen, Jeremy Dehner and Janne Lahti scored a goal each to make it 3–0 to Jokerit. The team from Prague never really recovered from those blows.

”We need to pick up maximum points from the three games this week in order to really challenge for a place in the playoff” said Jokerit coach Erkka Westerlund before the trip to the Czech Republic. The first three are in the bag and Jokerit advanced into second place of the division since their Finnish compatriots Helsinki IFK lost their game also played in the Czech capital.

HIFK, unbeaten so far with eight points out of a possible nine before Thursdays game opened the scoring 1:55 into the second period and was the better of the two teams in the opening two periods. But Sparta turned the game around in the third period, with one goal from Peter Jánský and one from Petr Tenkrat. Jerry Antola looked to have salvaged a point from HIFK late in the third period, but another strike from Tenkrat gave Sparta a glimmer of hope of finding a way into the Red Bull Salute. But in order to keep that hope alive, they need a win against Jokerit on Saturday.

Swedish Luleå, also kept a flicker of hope alive as two penalties gave them two points at home against Finnish side Oulun Kärpät. First, Johan Harju scored the goal the tied the game with a little over four minutes left on a penalty shot. Then Mattias Persson scored the gamewinning goal in the penalty shootout.

The South and West divisions look to be real tight when it comes to which teams will advance into the Red Bull Salute. The games on Thursday only made it even more uncertain in those two divisions.

In the South Adler Mannheim lost their 100-percent record when Linköping won 2–0 with two power-play goals from Mikael Håkanson and Niclas Hävelid. And in the same division Bílí Tygři Liberec kept HV71 scoreless as the Czechs won 3–0 away from home to close in on the other teams in the division, having only played three games so far.

All seven Czech teams are in action on Saturday night. Games can be followed live at EuropeanTrophy.com.

7 Czech teams will compete for European Trophy

The European hockey season just ended on Sunday, but on Friday it was announced that the 2011-12 season would officially begin on August 11 with the European Trophy.

Sparta in action against Djurgårdens IF in 2010 European Trophy
competition. They will renew acquaintances in Stockholm on
August 13, 2011. Photo: bart70.rajce.idnes.cz.

What began as the Nordic Trophy in 2006 as a pre-season tournament between Swedish and Finnish clubs, the event was expanded in 2010 to include teams in other European leagues. Last season, Sparta Praha was the lone Czech team to compete in the 18-team tournament which was won by Eisbären Berlin. This year, the tournament has been expanded to 24 teams, including seven Czech clubs. In addition to Finland and Sweden, there will also be clubs competing from Austria, Germany, and Slovakia. Last year, there were also clubs from Norway and Switzerland involved.

The 24 teams have been divided into four divisions of six, with Czech teams in three of the four groups. Sparta and Slavia Praha will play in the North Division, Bílí Tygři Liberec, Eaton Pardubice, and Kometa Brno in the South, and Mountfield České Budějovice and Plzeň 1929 will compete in the East.

Having Sparta and Slavia in the same group is convenient for teams travelling from other countries, who can play both teams on back-to-back nights. It also means that Prague fans will be treated to an August edition of their derby. The two teams will square off at Zimní stadion Eden in Prague's Vršovice district on August 20. Eden is where Slavia played its home games before O2 Arena opened in 2004. The club's training facilities and youth teams are still based there.

"When we've played summer pre-season games in the past, such as the Tipsport Cup, they attracted about 800 spectators. I think that a foreign team will attract even more," said Slavia general manager and coach, Vladimír Růžička, about what kind of crowds might be expected at Eden, which can accommodate around 3,000 spectators. "I'm hopeful that the games will be of good quality, even when they're played before the season."

Teams generally look at the tournament as a good way to get players into competitive games before the start of their domestic leagues. "In past summers, we had the Tipsport Cup, which won't take place this year," Kometa Brno coach Zdeněk Venera told hokej.cz's Jan Vacek. "We welcome the chance to play in this tournament to get a good look at our team in pre-season games against strong teams." 

Each team will play the other five teams in its group, plus one additional game against a team from each of the other three groups for a total of eight. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the playoff round, which will be a three-round, single-knockout event played in Salzburg and Vienna, Austria, December 16 to 18.

Below is the schedule of games involving Czech teams. Home teams are listed first. For a complete tournament schedule, visit:

http://www.europeantrophy.com/schedule.php

Thursday, August 11 HC Sparta Praha - HV71 Jönköping (Sweden) Adler Mannheim (Germany) - HC Bílí Tygři Liberec HC Eaton Pardubice - Linköpings HC (Sweden) Djurgårdens IF Stockholm (Sweden) - HC Slavia Praha   Saturday, August 13 HC Kometa Brno - Linköpings HC (Sweden) HC Eaton Pardubice - HV71 Jönköping Luleå HF (Sweden) - HC Slavia Praha HC Mountfield Č. Budějovice - HC Plzeň 1929 Djurgårdens IF Stockholm - HC Sparta Praha Sunday, August 14 HC Kometa Brno - HV71 Jönköping Luleå HF - HC Sparta Praha TPS Turku (Finland) - HC Slavia Praha Thursday, August 18 Adler Mannheim - HC Kometa Brno HC Bílí Tygři Liberec - HC Eaton Pardubice Oulun Kärpät (Finland) - HC Plzeň 1929 KalPa Kuopio (Finland) - HC Mountfield   Saturday, August 20 HC Bílí Tygři Liberec - HC Kometa Brno Adler Mannheim - HC Eaton Pardubice HC Slavia Praha - HC Sparta Praha Oulun Kärpät - HC Mountfield KalPa Kuopio - HC Plzeň 1929 Sunday, August 21 EC Red Bull Salzburg - HC Kometa Brno Tappara Tampere (Finland) - HC Eaton Pardubice Thursday, August 25 HV71 Jönköping - HC Bílí Tygři Liberec HC Slavia Praha - Jokerit Helsinki (Finland) HC Sparta Praha - Helsinki IFK (Finland) HC Plzeň 1929 - Vienna Capitals (Austria) HC Mountfield Č. Budějovice - HC Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) Saturday, August 27 Linköpings HC - HC Bílí Tygři Liberec HC Eaton Pardubice - HC Kometa Brno HC Sparta Praha - Jokerit Helsinki HC Slavia Praha - Helsinki IFK HC Mountfield Č. Budějovice - Vienna Capitals HC Plzeň 1929 - HC Slovan Bratislava Sunday, August 28 HC Plzeň 1929 - Tappara Tampere HC Kometa Brno - Jokerit Helsinki HC Eaton Pardubice - Helsinki IFK Oulun Kärpät - HC Bílí Tygři Liberec Thursday, September 1 EC Red Bull Salzburg (Austria) - HC Mountfield Č. Budějovice Saturday, September 3 HC Sparta Praha - Eisbären Berlin (Germany) HC Bílí Tygři Liberec - Luleå HF HC Kometa Brno - HC Mountfield Č. Budějovice HC Slavia Praha - HC Plzeň 1929 Sunday, September 4 HC Bílí Tygři Liberec - Eisbären Berlin Adler Mannheim - HC Slavia Praha HC Plzeň 1929 - HC Eaton Pardubice HC Mountfield Č. Budějovice - HC Sparta Praha

Vítkovice knocks off Budějovice

Two of the four semifinalists in the 2011 Czech Extraliga playoffs have now been established. First, Eaton Pardubice swept PSG Zlín, and on Sunday they were joined by Vítkovice Steel, who completed a six-game victory over Mountfield České Budějovice.

After getting first period goals from Lubomír Vosátko and Marek Malík, Vítkovice weathered the storm the rest of the way in enemy territory, earning a game 6 victory at Budvar Arena to finish off the series.

"For us, it was very important that we survived those five penalties in the first period and we still scored two goals," said Vítkovice coach Zdeněk Moták. "From our perspective, it was an excellent period. From that point on, it was a very close game, just like the whole series. We are very pleased we got the last win today and have more time and space for rest and recuperation from injuries."

The remaining semifinalists could be revealed on Monday, as the last two quarterfinal series play potentially series-ending sixth games. Slavia Praha will try to finish off Bílí Tygři Liberec on home ice at 18:10 on ČT4 television and Oceláři Třinec will make the trek into Litvínov and try to end that series.

Pardubice sweeps Zlín, 16 straight playoff wins

Pardubice celebrates its 16th straight playoff win and third
straight sweep. Photo: Jan Jedlička, hcpce.cz.

The winning streak for HC Eaton Pardubice continued on Wednesday night, when they defeated PSG Zlín 6-2 to complete a four-game sweep of their quarterfinal series. For Pardubice, it was their sixteenth straight playoff win and third straight series sweep, dating back to last season. However, the players are best not to get caught up in this significant run, instead concentrating on what lies ahead of them.

"At this point we've won four," team captain Petr Koukal said on the team's website, when asked of the significance of 16 straight wins. "As our coach tells us, what happened last year is simply in the past. It's a nice lead, we won four games, but in the next series it won't do us any good . . .  We start the semifinals 0-0." 

The 6-2 score is somewhat misleading, as it was 2-2 at the game's midway point and still only 3-2 with six minutes to play, before Pardubice scored 3 late goals to ice the series. Jan Starý had 2 assists in the game and finished the series with 7 points, which makes him the overall playoff leader. With a goals-against average of 1.86 in the series, Martin Růžička is more than filling the shoes left by the departure of Dominik Hašek, who backstopped them to last year's championship.

"He didn't allow a cheap goal the entire series, which certainly a confidence-booster," Koukal said of his goaltender. "Any team that wants to succeed has to have a good goalie, they always say."

Pardubice will now have at least 10 days off before the start of the semi-finals, with their opponent still obviously unknown.

In other quarter-final action, the Vítkovice-České Budějovice series doesn't show any signs of ending soon, as Mountfield won a must-win game to knot the series at 2 wins apeice. It didn't come easy, though.

Goals by Michal Kolarz and František Ptáček gave the visitors a 2-0 lead through 2 periods, but Vítkovice applied incredible pressure in the third.

Lukáš Klimek cut the lead in half at 10:49 and then, just 26 seconds later, it appeared that they might have tied the game when a shot came close to the goal as Mountfield defenceman Jakub Šulc dislodged it. Video replay determined that it was no goal, but Šulc was assessed a delay-of-game penalty. Vítkovice had a 35-second two-man advantage when Jiří Vykoukal was sent off for hooking, but they couldn't convert. An empty-netter made it a 3-1 final.

The series will now certainly return to Budějovice for a sixth game on Sunday, after they play a fifth game Friday. As the Zlín-Pardubice series is now finished, it will be the only game each night, so it is expected that both games will be televised by ČT4 Sport television and www.ct24.cz/sport.

Pardubice on the verge of advancing to semis

Eaton Pardubice has become the first team in the Czech Extraliga to move within a game of advancing to the league semi-finals with a shootout win on home ice over PSG Zlín. They now lead the series 3-0, while Vitkovice leads 2-1 over České Budějovice. Třinec leads Litvínov 2-0 and Liberec and Slavia are tied 1-1, with third games in each series going Wednesday night.

Eaton Pardubice 2-1 PSG Zlín (shootout)
(Pardubice leads best-of-seven series 3-0.)

Pardubice's Martin Bartek scoring the shootout winner in game 3.
Photo: Jan Jedlička, hcpce.cz.

It hasn't been as easy for Pardubice as the series score suggests, with two of their three victories so far coming in extra time. They won game 1 in overtime and then game 3 in a shootout. They have a chance to wrap up the series on home ice on Tuesday.

Tomáš Duba has done all he can to keep Zlín in the games, but it hasn't been enough to get them a victory. On Tuesday, he stopped 49 of 50 shots in 70 minutes of hockey, then stopped 2 shootout attempts before being beaten for the game-winning shot by Martin Bartek on Pardubice's third attempt. Bartek also scored the overtime winner in game 1.

Pardubice has now won 15 consecutive playoff games, dating back to last year's quarterfinals, and have a chance for their third-straight series sweep on Tuesday night. The game begins in Pardubice at 18:10.

Vítkovice Steel 3-0 Mountfield České Budějovice
(Vítkovice leads best-of-seven series 2-1.)

Viktor Ujčík scored a goal and an assist and Roman Málek stopped all 21 shots he faced as Vítkovice went up 2-1 in its series with České Budějovice. Due to the bizzare series format that was caused by the Davis Cup invading Víktovice's home arena, they now have the next two games at home, and appear to be in a favourable position.


Game 4 goes Tuesday night at 17:40 on ČT4 television and online at ct24.cz/sport. The teams will then get two days off before playing the fifth game on Friday.

Oceláři Třinec 3-2 Benzina Litvínov
(Třinec leads best-of-seven series 2-0.)

Linesmen attempt to separate Třinec's David Květon (top) and
Litvínov's Karel Kubát in a rough game 3. Photo: Marian Ježowicz,
hcocelari.cz.

In other series, Oceláři Třinec is in the driver's seat against Benzina Litvínov, winning each of its two games at home. The first game was a 6-0 white-washing, in which Peter Hamerlík added to his league-leading 6 shutouts during the season with one in his first playoff game. It looked like Litvínov might turn the tables in game 2, jumping out to a 2-0 first-period lead, but Třinec came back to win 3-2. Radek Bonk scored 2 goals and added an assist.

Less than 3 minutes after he scored to give Litvínov a 2-0 lead, Peter Janský was thrown out of the game when he knocked out Třinec's Josef Hrabal with a vicious check to the head. The match penalty he incurred means an automatic one-game suspension, with further disciplinary action yet to be announced. Bonk scored his first of two goals on the ensuing power-play, which was actually a two-man adavantage.

Bílí Tygři Liberec 5-1 Slavia Praha
(Best-of-seven series tied 1-1.)

Bílí Tygři Liberec blew a 4-2 lead in game 1, losing 5-4 as Lukáš Endál scored the game winner for Slavia Praha with 3:35 left in regulation time. The home side bounced back with a strong performance in game 2, winning 5-1.

Disciplinary action is the talk of this series as well, as Slavia's Jiří Dolezal kneed Liberec's Petr Nedvěd in the third period, which was followed by a fight between Dolezal and Andrej Podkonický. Incensed, Liberec coach Jiří Kalous stepped onto the ice in an apparent effort to confront Dolezal, though he didn't get near him. Nedvěd, who threw a water bottle at the Slavia bench in anger as he left the ice, was taken to hospital after the game and his status for Wednesday's game is unknown. Both sides are requesting disciplinary action against opposing players for the incident.

Road teams successful; 2 new series begin Saturday

In the first two days of the Extraliga's quarterfinals, the road teams have been successful, and both of them have a chance to close out their series at home. Eaton Pardubice has run its playoff winning streak to 14 by taking both games in Zlín, and now find themselves in the enviable position of going home up 2-0. Meanwhile, Vítkovice Steel earned a split in České Budějovice, and now can look forward to three home games in a row.

(4) PSG Zlín vs (5) Eaton Pardubice 

Game 1 - Zlín 3-4 Pardubice (overtime)
Game 2 - Zlín 2-4 Pardubice
(Pardubice leads best-of-seven series 2-0.)

Tempers flare late in game 2 between Zlín (yellow) and Pardubice.
Photo: Petr Sagner, Zlín Press/hokej.zlin.cz.

Pardubice won the first game, 4-3 in overtime on Martin Bartek's power-play goal. They then got off to an early 2-0 lead in game 2 and preserved that margin of victory to the end, escaping with a 4-2 victory and a 2-0 series lead. They were led by 3 points from Jan Starý. The third period of the second game got rough, particularly after Zlín's Michal Důras ran Pardubice goaltender Martin Ružička, which touched off a three-on-three altercation involving North Smithfield, RI's Jeff Jillson. The bad blood may foreshadow what is to come when the series resumes in Pardubice on Monday night.

The defending champions are now clearly in the driver's seat of the series, and will look to complete their third consecutive playoff sweep, thereby avoiding a return to East Moravia.

(3) Vítkovice Steel vs (6) Mountfield České Budějovice

Game 1 - České Budějovice 1-3 Vítkovice
Game 2 - České Budějovice 5-0 Vítkovice
(Best-of-seven series tied 1-1.)

Vítkovice applying goalmouth pressure in České Budějovice. Photo:
František Panec, hokejcb.cz.

Both games featured scoreless first periods. In the first game, it was Vítkovice who broke the goose egg with two goals in the second period, then held off a late charge for a 3-1 win.

In Game 2, the home team was determined not to fall into an 0-2 hole, out-shooting Vítkovice 49-21 and winning 5-0. They got on the board with two goals 1:16 apart in the second by Jiří Šimanek and captain František Ptaček. Ptaček one-timed a laser over Roman Málek's left shoulder after the goaltender had gone down early. At the other end, Jakub Kovář picked up the shutout.

Despite being the higher seed, Vítkovice was forced out of their home rink for the first two games of the series due to the Davis Cup tennis series in Ostrava this weekend. Therefore, they now have 3 straight games at home and could close out the series without having to return to South Bohemia.

(2) Bílí Tigři Liberec vs (7) Slavia Praha

After winning a five-game play-in series against Karlovy Vary, Slavia advances to play Liberec, who has been idle since finishing the regular season on February 20. Slavia's best chance for a victory is to grab an early lead against the White Tigers, who may have to shake off some cobwebs.

Despite finishing points behind Liberec, Slavia did win the season series 8 points to 4, so an upset isn't out of the realm of possibility. However, they will have to solve their scoring woes and also hold off Liberec's powerful offence, led by veteran Petr Nedvěd. 38-year-old Nedvěd was third in the league with 55 points this season. They will also have to contend with Liberec's fans, who will undoubtedly fill Tipsport Arena to capacity dressed all in white, and probably show up to the games in Prague in significant numbers as well.

Saturday's series-opening game begins at 18:30 (UTC +1). However ČT4 will join the game in progress, beginning its television coverage after the conclusion of Davis Cup tennis, at approximately 19:30. The game will be available in its entirety, however, online at the station's website ct24.cz/sport.

(1) Oceláři Třinec vs (8) Benzina Litvínov

Some people might think that Benzina Litvínov has absolutely no chance in this series. However, it should be remembered that they just knocked off a Plzeň team that would have tied Oceláři Třinec for first place had they not been penalized 19 points by the league. The team has had a different attitude since a late-season coaching change. Like Slavia, they will also be looking to get off to a good start against an opponent that has had an extended layoff of 12 days.

But to bet against Třinec might be hasty. They had, by far, the best offence in the league, scoring 178 goals in 52 games for a 3.42 average. Leading their charge was Martin Růžička (no relation to the Pardubice goaltender of the same name) and Radek Bonk. They placed six scorers in the top 22 in the league, giving them good scoring depth. Their checking line is centred by Bryan McGregor of Niagra Falls, ON, and at the back end, they are led by Lukáš Zíb and Lukáš Krajiček. In goal, Peter Hamerlík led the league with 6 shutouts in only 34 games.

Litvínov will hope to get Martin Ručinský back into the lineup this series, but not at the start and there are no guarantees it will happen at all.

Quarterfinals begin Thursday

Two of the Extraliga's quarterfinal series get underway Thursday, with Mountfield České Budějovice hosting Vítkovice Steel and PSG Zlín hosting Eaton Pardubice. Both series will play their second games in the same locations on Friday, before the other two series start on Saturday.

(3) Vitkovice Steel vs (6) Mountfield České Budějovice

Vítkovice will count on Marek Malík (#2) for leadership against
Česke Budějovice. Photo: František Panec, hokejcb.cz.

Even though Vítkovice finished third and Mountfield sixth, the series will begin in České Budějovice, as Ostrava's ČEZ Arena is unavailable due to Davis Cup tennis occupying the arena from Thursday to Sunday. The series will shift to Ostrava for games three through five, if necessary, with a possible sixth game going in Budějovice and a seventh back in Ostrava.

On one hand, Mountfield is glad to start the series at home, but it also creates some pressure, as after the first two games, they could have to play four of the next five on the road. At  18-4-1-3 on the 3-2-1-0 scale, Vítkovice had the best home record in the league. Mountfield wasn't bad themselves, finishing third at home with 16-4-2-4. Neither team was particularly strong on the road, finishing ninth and tenth, respectively. Therefore, the team from South Bohemia will want to take advantage at the start and win the first two.

"We're going to want to put on a good performance and try to win both games at home, although of course our opponent definitely wants at least one win," said coach František Výborný.

"Certainly it would be better to start the series in our home rink, but circumstances were against it and we have to accept the way it is. Of the possible options we tried to pick the most acceptable. I don't that it is a handicap nor a key point of the whole series," was Vítkovice coach Mojmir Trličík's take on the unusual series schedule.

České Budějovice won the season series, 8 points to 4, taking 3 of the 4 games (one in overtime). Both teams have had 10 days off since their last games. 

(4) PSG Zlín vs (5) Eaton Pardubice

Goaltenders Martin Růžička of Pardubice (above) and Tomáš Duba
of Zlín (below) will be big keys to the series. Photos: Jan Jedlička,
hcpce.cz.

The other series to start Thursday features two teams that were tied with 88 points, Zlín and Pardubice. Zlín won the tiebreaker and got the number four seed based on winning the season series in convincing fashion, 10 points to 2. Pardubice' only 2 points came from an overtime victory.

Last year, the two teams tied for second place with 96 points; Zlín won the tiebreaker as well. Zlín then lost to Slavia Praha in the quarterfinals, while Pardubice dropped its first game to Oceláři Třinec before winning 12 in a row behind the goaltending of Dominik Hašek to capture the title. 

This year, Pardubice has no Hašek in goal. However, they do have Martin Růžička, whose great season usurped the expected starter, Adam Svoboda, with 5 shutouts, a 2.11 goals-against average, and a .927 save percentage. For Zlín, Tomáš Duba also had 5 shutouts to go along with 2.25 and .932, so it could provide for a great goaltending duel.

According to website hokej.cz, here is the schedule for the first four games of each series, complete with start times and television. Games on ČT4 Sport will also be available online at www.ct24.cz/sport, and most games (though possibly not all) will be available at tv.hokej.cz.

Thursday, March 3 - 1st games: 
17:30 HC Mountfield České Budějovice - HC Vítkovice Steel
18:10 PSG Zlín - HC Eaton Pardubice (ČT4 Sport)

Friday, March 4 - 2nd games:
17:30 PSG Zlín - HC Eaton Pardubice
18:10 HC Mountfield České Budějovice - HC Vítkovice Steel (ČT4 Sport)

Saturday, March 5 - 1st games: 
17:00 HC Oceláři Třinec - HC BENZINA Litvínov
18:30 Bílí Tygři Liberec - HC Slavia Praha (ČT4 Sport)

Sunday, March 6 - 2nd games:
17:00 Bílí Tygři Liberec - HC Slavia Praha
18:10 HC Oceláři Třinec - HC Benzina Litvínov (ČT4 Sport)

Monday, March 7 - 3rd games:
17:30 HC Vítkovice Steel - HC Mountfield České Budějovice
18:10 HC Eaton Pardubice - PSG Zlín (ČT4 Sport)

Tuesday, March 8 - 4th games:
17:40 HC Vítkovice Steel - HC Mountfield České Budějovice (ČT4 Sport)
18:10 HC Eaton Pardubice - PSG Zlín

Wednesday, March 9 - 3rd games:
17:40 HC Benzina Litvínov - HC Oceláři Třinec (ČT4 Sport)
18:15 HC Slavia Praha - Bílí Tygři Liberec

Thursday, March 10 - 4th games: 
17:30 HC Benzina Litvínov - HC Oceláři Třinec
18:10 HC Slavia Praha - Bílí Tygři Liberec (ČT4 Sport)