Plzeň and Karlovy Vary face elimination Saturday

A pair of Extraliga playoff games will be played in West Bohemia Saturday night, with each of the home teams facing elimination. To the surprise of many, Plzeň 1929 dropped both games in Litvínov and now must win three in a row to advance to the quarterfinals. Likewise, Energie Karlovy Vary lost twice in Prague, and now must run the table against Slavia to advance. In Plzeň, the teams will face off at 19:30 Central European Time (UTC +1) on tv.hokej.cz, while the puck drops in Karlovy Vary at 19:40 on ČT4 Sport television and www.ct24.cz/sport.

"We are in a difficult position but we will fight. We haven't lost yet," said Plzeň left winger Tomáš Vlasák, who played 10 games for the Los Angeles Kings in 2000-01. Vlasák led the league this season with 30 goals and 68 points and linemate Martin Straka was tops in assists with 44 and second in points with 61. Both picked up a goal and an assist in the two games in Litvínov. In each game, Plzeň dug themselves a hole by falling behind by 2 goals in the first period, then spent the rest of the game trying to battle back. "Both games were very similar. It was more battling than pretty hockey. We weren't particularly successful in the first, Litvínov took advantage and deservedly won." 

 Assistant coach Milan Razým thinks that they can't rely too much on the duo of Vlasák and Straka, and must get some offensive production from other players. "We rely on them, but the opponent knows that and they put on a special defensive formation against them. But we are a team, so when the top five don't produce, we need others to step up, which didn't happen. We failed on the power play, we need to get that going."

Nick St. Pierre scored his first Extraliga goal Thursday, but Plzeň
still trails the series 2-0. Photo: Milan Podpera, hcplzen.cz.

Plzeň did get a goal from one unexpected source in game two when defenceman Nick St. Pierre scored his first Extraliga goal. "The truth is the loss takes away the joy at the end of the game, but at the moment I was really very happy," said the 25-year-old native of St-Étienne, QC who went to Colgate University. He went goalless in 33 regular season games, but his slapshot in the second period of game two cut the deficit to 3-2. Plzeň ultimately lost 5-2. "But we're not playing badly, we're trying as hard as we can. The coach keeps reminding us that we have to work hard, really battle. And Martin Straka leads us on the ice."

For their part, Litvínov isn't counting their chickens before they hatch. "We're up 2-0, which is absolutely perfect so far and better than we expected, but we still have one step,"said assistant coach Jiří Kučera. He also said that injured forward Martin Ručinský will definitely not return before the end of this series.


Karlový Vary lost a pair of close games in Prague, 4-3 in overtime and 3-1. Coach Václav Baďouček is optimistic about his team's chances, and thinks they were unlucky to leave Prague down 2 games. "The difference is cashing in on our chances," he said. "We can create them, but in the end we didn't finish. We need to improve."

"I wouldn't count Karlovy Vary out at home," said Slavia assistant coach Jiří Čelanský. "They play good hockey, they have nothing to lose and will play hard."

Playoff positions continue to change, Straka feels the pressure on and off the ice

Since the last full slate of Extraliga action took place on Sunday, only two games have taken place, but each have had an effect on who will be in the playoffs.

Litvínov has won 2 in a row since the coaching change.

Photo: Jan Beneš, www.sporting-photo.com.

On Tuesday night, Sparta Praha hosted Benzina Litvínov in a game in which the two teams made up the game in hand they had on the rest of the league. The game was originally scheduled to be played in late December, but was moved to accommodate Sparta's participation in the Spengler Cup.

The game in hand was especially important for Litvínov, as they could use it to get themselves back into the top 10. They continued the mini-roll they've been on since Vladimír Kýhos took over as coach, winning 4-1 to move into a ninth-place tie with Energie Karlovy Vary, 2 points ahead of Plzeň 1929.

Langley, BC's John Lammers (right) gives Plzeň a 2-0 lead.
Photo: Milan Podpera, hcplzen.cz.

Plzeň took to the ice at home on Thursday night against Vítkovice Steel. Though they've been at or near the top of the standings all season, Vítkovice has been in a bit of a slump of late, and went into the game 6 points out of first place.

After a scoreless first period, Plzeň took control of the game in the second, scoring twice. First was a strike by the club's top scorers, as Radek Duda scored on a setup by Martin Straka and Tomáš Vlasák. For Straka, it ended a 4-game scoring draught.  Next was a goal created by the North American combo of Nick Johnson and John Lammers. Johnson took the puck hard to the net, but was denied by goaltender Roman Málek. However, Lammers was waiting on the doorstep and stuffed home the rebound to give the home side a 2-0 lead. Defenceman Nick St. Pierre of St-Étienne, QC was a third North American on the ice at the time of the goal. Vítkovice cut the lead to 2-1 midway through the third period, but Vlasák scored an empty-netter, assisted by Straka and Duda, to makde it a 3-1 final.

The win temporarily put Plzeň into an 8th-place tie with Kometa Brno, one point above Karlovy Vary and Litvínov.

 After the game, Plzeň captain and general manager Martin Straka appeared relieved. Not only had he bumped a 4-game slump with 2 points, but the game came the day after the APK vote in Špindlerův Mlýn when Jan Svoboda voted on behalf of the Plzeň club to withdraw the club's objection to the points deduction. According to Straka, he wasn't even aware the vote was going to take place.

"I do not want to lie, it was complicated, and I didn't sleep the best," he answered, when asked about how ready he was for the game after the off-ice troubles.  

"I had no indication that this would happen. Unfortunately, it happened. Even while it was happening I was given no explanation. We were taking a position for something, for something we have struggled hard for and at one point it changed and we all look like fools. I agreed to meet with Mr. Svoboda so he could explain to me what happened there. The withdrawal was his initiative. He saw that I was very unhappy, as were all people around the club."

Svoboda then resigned from his position with the club.


The stage is set for a wild evening of hockey Friday evening, in which the standings are expected to change some more. Most of the six games being played can be followed at tv.hokej.cz, while Kometa Brno-Sparta Praha can be seen live on ČT4 18:40 CET.

A tough week for Plzeň

Last season, with the help of a few imports from North America, HC Plzeň 1929 finished first place in the Tipsport Extraliga before bowing out in the quarter-finals. This season, things haven't gone quite as well. Still, with four North Americans on their roster, the "Indians", as they are known colloquially, are likely to command more attention in North America than any other team in the league.

They currently have defensemen John Slaney from St. John's, NL and Nick St. Pierre from St-Étienne, QC and forwards John Lammers from Langley, BC and Nick Johnson from Windsor, CT. To Canadians, Slaney is by far the most noteworthy name, by virtue of his winning goal at the 1991 IIHF U20 World Championships followed by his lengthy career in the NHL and AHL. Currently, however, Slaney is on the sideline. He broke his jaw October 12 against Mladá Boleslav and is due back in mid-December.

Last Friday night, the rest of the Plzeň team paid a visit to Prague's TESLA Arena to take on HC Sparta Praha. Sparta had a pair of North American defensemen in their lineup, Brian Salcido from Los Angeles, CA and Doug O'Brien who, like Slaney, hails from St. John's.

It was Salcido who broke the goose-egg in the first period with a shot from the high slot that beat goaltender Marek Mazanec inside the post. For Salcido, who was known as an offensive defenseman in the AHL, it was his second goal of the season.

Minutes later, it appeared that the Plzeň duo of Lammers and Johnson may have tied the game, but referee Milan Minař blew the whistle first, claiming that Sparta goaltender Tomáš Pöpperle had covered the puck. Lammers explained, "I took a shot and there was a rebound lying in the crease. Johnson whacked it in but unfortunately there was a quick whistle."

After that, Pöpperle was perfect the rest of the way, posting 21 saves and earning his second straight shutout.

Like Pöpperle, O'Brien played for Plzeň last season, which made the win feel even better. "Yeah, defintely. It feels great to beat 'em. Lot of old buddies so it feels good to beat them. They beat us last time in a close game and tonight was a pretty close game."

For the past few games, O'Brien has been paired on the blueline with Michal Gulaší, who is one of Sparta's harder hitters.Though it wasn't an overly rough contest, Gulaší was a noted physical presence on the back end. "He throws the body around a lot. It's a big part of his game. He loves to do it. I love watching him."

After Salcido's first period tally, Karel Hromas scored late in the second and again midway through the third period to give Sparta a 3-0 victory. The win gave Sparta 22 points on the season and moved them one ahead of Plzeň into the tenth place in a tight race for playoff spots. O'Brien added, "It's a big win for us. With the new coach (Miloš Holaň) that's two in a row for us. The guys are excited. Back to back shoutouts; Pöpperle's played great for us."
 
As far as Plzeň is concerned, they were last season's regular season champions and their record to this point is certainly a disappointment. Unfortunately, an even bigger disappointment would be in store a few days later.

On Tuesday, Czech Ice Hockey Association Competition Director Stanislav Šulc dropped a bomb, stating that three teams, Kladno, Mladá Boleslav and Plzeň, had played games with improperly registered players and would likely be forced to forfeit points accumulated in games where the ineligible players participated.

The players reported were Kladno's Jindřich Kotrla, Mladá Boleslav's Tomáš Divíšek, Jiří Marušák and Peter Fabuš, and Plzeň's Tomáš Frolo and Petr Přikryl.

As Kotrla played only eight games and Kladno was almost certain to finish in last place anyway, they are least affected by this ruling. However, for Mladá Boleslav and Plzeň, the results could be disastrous. Mladá Boleslav would lose 22 points and Plzeň 19, making the playoffs a virtual impossibility. What's more,  Boleslav would drop below Kladno into last place, meaning they might end up having to play a series to avoid relegation to the First National League.