Šenkeřík won't play vs Sweden, Frk will

Petr Šenkeřík, seen here in the tournament opener against Norway,
won't play Thursday. Photo: Andre Ringuette, HHOF-IIHF Images.

After being carried off on a stretcher during Tuesday's game against Canada, IIHF.com's Martin Merk is reporting that Czech defenceman Petr Šenkeřík is feeling better, but is still feeling the effects of a slight concussion and won't play Thursday against Sweden.

“Luckily, it’s not as bad as it looked yesterday,” the Czech team’s general manager Petr Komers said. “He feels better, but he won’t play tomorrow.”

19-year-old Šenkeřík, who split last season between the WHL's Kootenay Ice and Prince George Cougars, now plays in the Czech First League with HC Rebel Havlíčkův Brod. He was unconscious and wheeled off on a stretcher after being hit by Canada's Zack Kassian in the second period of Canada's 7-2 win. Though it did not appear that Kassian intentionally targeted Šenkeřík's head, he caught him with a hard shoulder to the chin at high speed. According to IIHF rules, any hit to the head or neck area must be penalized, and anything causing injury carries the minimum of a major penalty and game misconduct.

Kassian received an automatic one-game suspension when he was assessed a match penalty on the play by the referees. He was further suspended an additional game by tournament disciplinarian Dan Marouelli, which will keep him out of action for the remainder of the tournament's group stage. The tournament has come down hard on checks to the head in this tournament, with two Slovak players, Martin Marinčin and Peter Hraško, each given three- and two-game suspensions for incidents in their game against the USA.

It's not known if or when Šenkeřík will return in the 2011 World Junior Championships, but it has been confirmed that Martin Frk will not face further disciplinary action after being assessed a major penalty for spearing and a game misconduct in the third period of the same game. Kromers and the Czechs were originally informed that Frk would not be allowed to play against Sweden, "but we were told that the tournament directorate will not penalize Frk further. He was given a warning, but he can play."

Frk, who just turned 17 in October, is the youngest player on the Czech team. The Halifax Moosehead was the leading rookie scorer in the QMJHL at the time he left for the Czech U20 team camp and won't be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft until 2012. He wasn't added to the team's preliminary roster until Dmitrij Jaškin was forced out with a knee injury.

The Czech Republic (1-1) faces Sweden (2-0) Thursday at 3pm Eastern Time, 21:00 Central European Time. The game can be followed on TSN and RDS (Canada), NHL Network (USA), ČT4 Sport (Czech Republic), or Eurosport 2 (Europe).

Czechs crushed by Canada at WJC, Sparta 0-2 at Spengler Cup

When Antonín Honejsek of the Moose Jaw Warriors opened the scoring for the Czech Republic just 49 seconds after the opening faceoff, perhaps some thought the pre-game predictions of a one-sided Canadian victory wouldn't come to fruition. However, Canada cashed in on the power play twice late in the opening frame to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

Still, the game was within reach. In the sixth minute of the second period, Canadian Zack Kassian hit Czech defenceman Petr Šenkeřík in open ice, a collision between two number 9s, and Šenkeřík went down. He remained on the ice for some time before being removed from the ice on a stretcher. Kassian's shoulder caught Šenkeřík in the jaw, and though there did not appear to be any attempt to target the head, he was assessed a match penalty, which results in an automatic one-game suspension and a disciplinary review to be led by former NHL referee Dan Marouelli to see if further punishment is warranted. As of yet, there is no word on Šenkeřík's status, or of any further disciplinary action against Kassian.

At this point, the Czechs were given a five-minute power-play and a golden opportunity to get back into the game. Honejsek almost did just that when he beat two Canadian penalty-killers single-handedly before being turned back by Canadian goaltender Olivier Roy in an attempt to score his second goal of the game. Seconds later, Louis LeBlanc converted on a pretty play short-handed to give Canada a 3-1 lead, and for the Czech Republic it was all downhill from that point.

In the end, it was 7-2, with Jakub Jeřábek of Plzeň 1929 scoring a late goal. Martin Frk of the Halifax Mooseheads was also assessed a spearing major and a game misconduct in the third period, and could also face further disciplinary action.

Now 1-1, the Czechs play Sweden on Thursday and Russia on Friday. They will have to beat at least one of them in order to advance to the quarter-finals.

Sparta celebrates an early goal, but the lead didn't last.
Photo: spenglercup.ch.

At the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, Sparta Praha will play in the quarter-finals despite losing both games of its group stage, as all teams in the tournament go at least that far. On Wednesday, they fell 4-1 to SKA St. Petersburg. Petr Kafka opened the scoring for Sparta, but the KHL club responded with two goals late in the first period and never looked back.

Sparta defenceman Doug O'Brien, who hasn't seen any action yet in the tournament, will hope to get back into the lineup on Wednesday when his team plays against Team Canada at 20:15 Central European Time (2:15 PM ET). The game can be seen in Canada on TSN2 and in Europe on Eurosport 2.