Pardubice & Plzeň advance to semis with dramatic game 7 wins

A pair of dramatic seventh games this week rounded out the final four of the Czech Extraliga playoffs. On Tuesday night, Pardubice beat Víktovice in overtime and on Wednesday, Plzeň scored late in the third period to beat Zlín.


Pardubice 5 - 4 Vítkovice (overtime)
(Pardubice wins series 4-3)

Daniel Rákos wins it in overtime. Photo: Jan Jedlička, hcpce.cz.

The first 50 minutes of the game in Pardubice offered a fair amount of excitement for the fans of the two teams; three times the visitors from Ostrava took the lead and twice, once each in the first and second, the home team tied it. As the third period reached its midpoint, Roman Szturc's unassisted goal at 6:56 of the second period was the difference in the 3-2 hockey game, and a tone of nervousness was coming over the Pardubice fans. They were getting lots of chances, but Vítkovice goaltender Roman Málek was showing no chinks in his armour and they were slowly running out of time.

Then Petr Pohl was sent of for slashing, and the crowd became energized. Pardubice saw its chance, and capitalized, when Radovan Somík finished off a pretty passing play with 8:30 on the clock. The game was tied, but the drama was just starting.

Just 2:23 later, veteran Jiří Burger hushed the crowd when he deflected a shot from the point into the net. It was his second goal of the game, and his team's fourth go-ahead goal. Then Jan Kolář went off for slashing with 5:36 left.

By the time the minor penalty was killed off, there was only three and a half minutes left. With two minutes to go, goaltender Martin Růžička was lifted for a sixth attacker and Pardubice continued to get chances. Finally, with just 31 seconds on the clock, Martin Bartak fired home the tying goal, his second goal and third point of the game.

According to Extraliga rules, a seventh game that goes to overtime is not limited to ten minutes. However, in this game, not even one minute was needed. The intermission did not stop the scoring barrage, as Daniel Rákos fired a long shot that went over the shoulder of Málek at the 55-second mark to end the game and the series, send the Víktovice players and fans into sudden shock, and Pardubice players and fans into utter euphoria.


Plzeň 4 - 2 Zlín
(Plzeň wins series 4-3)

Celebrating the series-winning goal.
Photo: Milan Podpera, hcplzen.cz.

The next day, in Plzeň, there was more drama for fans of Czech hockey. Again, it was a game that saw the visitors taking the lead and the home team tying it. Zlín led 1-0 after one period and led 2-1 late in the second when defenceman Jiří Hanzlík fired a shot from the point to even the score after 40 minutes.

Most of the third period was played in the end of Luboš Horčička, who was by far the busier of the two goaltenders on the night, but the Zlín keeper made several saves to keep his team's chances alive. In the game, Plzeň fired 52 shots at Horčička, while Adam Svoboda in the Plzeň goal faced 32, plus one shot that didn't count that almost cost his team the series.

With less than five minutes left, it looked like the visitors had pulled ahead. From behind the net, Zlín's Petr Leška received a pass in front and beat Svoboda with a quick shot. However, in the battle behind the net for the puck, the back of the net had come up and the referee quickly stopped play, blowing his whistle before the puck went into the net, which was back in position by the time it went in. The Zlín players on the ice pleaded for a video review, but it was not a reviewable play, as the whistle had gone before the puck entered the net.

Given a second win, Plzeň scored the series winner shortly afterward. With just over two minutes to play, Hanzlík fed a pass to Nick Johnson in the slot, and the American made no mistake, firing a perfect shot off the post and in, and causing the arena to erupt.

Radek Duda added an empty-net goal, his second tally of the game, to put it away.


As the highest seed remaining, Plzeň now plays Kometa Brno in the semifinals. Eighth-place Kometa pulled off a huge quarterfinal upset, eliminating the regular-season winning Sparta Praha in six games. The series begins on Monday. On Saturday, Pardubice hosts Bílí Tygři Liberec to start the other semifinal series.

From hokej.cz, here is the semifinal schedule. Home teams are listed first and all times are Central European. All games will be televised by ČT4 and streamed live and on-demand on its website. All games are also available live internationally at tv.hokej.cz.

Semifinal schedule
HC Plzeň 1929 - HC Kometa Brno
Mon, 26.03.2012	HC Plzeň 1929	HC Kometa Brno	19:10
Tue, 27.03.2012	HC Plzeň 1929	HC Kometa Brno	17:40
Fri, 30.03.2012	HC Kometa Brno	HC Plzeň 1929	18:10
Sat, 31.03.2012	HC Kometa Brno	HC Plzeň 1929	18:10
*Mon, 02.04.2012	HC Plzeň 1929	HC Kometa Brno	18:10
*Wed, 04.04.2012	HC Kometa Brno	HC Plzeň 1929	17:40
*Fri, 06.04.2012	HC Plzeň 1929	HC Kometa Brno	18:10
HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice - Bílí Tygři Liberec
Sat, 24.03.2012	HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice	Bílí Tygři Liberec	18:10
Sun, 25.03.2012	HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice	Bílí Tygři Liberec	18:10
Wed, 28.03.2012	Bílí Tygři Liberec	HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice	17:40
Thu, 29.03.2012	Bílí Tygři Liberec	HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice	18:10
*Sun, 01.04.2012	HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice	Bílí Tygři Liberec	17:10
*Tue, 03.04.2012	Bílí Tygři Liberec	HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice	17:40
*Thu, 05.04.2012	HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice	Bílí Tygři Liberec	18:10

* Game to be played if necessary.

Pardubice and Liberec hold on to win on road

Written for Eurohockey.com:

A pair of close, tight-checking games were played on Tuesday night in Czech Extraliga playoff action. Pardubice held off a late charge by Vítkovice to win 3-2 and even the series 2-2, while Liberec got a late empty-net goal to win 3-1 in České Budějovice and take a series lead of the same score.

Vítkovice 2 - 3 Pardubice
(Best-of-seven series tied 2-2)

Jan Starý opened the scoring at the 28-second mark.
Photo: Petr Kotala, hc-vitkovice.cz.

Pardubice evened the series thanks to offence provided by Jan Starý in the first 40 minutes and great goaltending by Martin Růžička in the final 20.

Starý scored a pair of goals for visiting Pardubice in the first half of the opening period to give his team a quick 2-0 lead. On the first shift of the game, a neutral-zone turnover led to the first goal. Eight minutes later, a seemingly harmless shot from the boards found its way into the net.

In the second period, though, Vítkovice got those two goals back. Just past the game's midpoint, Petr Pohl took a pass in the neutral zone, skated in on Růžička, and beat him with a backhander to make it 2-1. Then with 1:19 left i the middle frame, they tied it when a pinball shot from Lukáš Klimek went off the skate of Radovan Somík, the back of Růžička, and in.

The tie was short-lived, though. Just 25 seconds later, Starý got his third point of the evening, setting up Václav Kočí with the eventual winning goal.

It was all Vítkovice in the third period, but they could not beat Růžička. As the final horn went there was a flurry of action around the Pardubice net, but they kept it out to preserve the victory.


České Budějovice 1 - 3 Liberec
(Liberec leads best-of-seven series 3-1)

Fans who watched Tuesday night's game in České Budějovice saw a great goaltending duel between Mountfield's Jakub Kovář and Bílí Tygři's Tomáš Vošvrda. For nearly two periods, the duo was unbeatable. However, Liberec's top line lived up to its billing on this night, as the trio of Petr Nedvěd, Tomáš Urban and Milan Bartovič put on their workboots and provided all of the team's offence.

Before the goals came, Vošvrda was the busier of the two netminders, as his club was back on its heels for a long stretch when they took four penalties in a row. Late in the second period, Liberec started applying the pressure, and Kovář made a blocker save, but Nedvěd put in the rebound in traffic with 4:31 to go in the frame.

The two teams traded goals early in the third. Just 21 seconds in, Nedvěd's shot was deflected mid-air by Urban for the second goal that Kovář had virtually no chance on. Just over two minutes later, the home side got one back when Pavel Kašpařík scored on another deflection.

With five minutes to go, Kašpařík had Budějovice's best chance to tie it from in close, but couldn't beat Vošvrda. Finally, Nedvěd recorded his third point of the game with an empty-net goal to put it away.


Liberec will now be looking to put the series away on home ice on Friday, where they will be looking to advance to the semifinals. Pardubice will also play at home on that night, where they will play the critical swing game against Vítkovice.

Vítkovice and Budějovice even series on the road

Written for Eurohockey.com:

A pair of Czech Extraliga clubs faced the prospect of going home in their quarterfinal series down 2-0, but both rallied to win and even their respective series. Vítkovice won in a shootout in Pardubice, while České Budějovice scored five times in the third period to win in Liberec.

Pardubice 2 - 3 Vítkovice (shootout)
(Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Filip Šindelář was looking through traffic for much of Friday's game.

Photo:  Jan Jedlička, hcpce.cz.

The visitors from the Silesio-Moravian border city of Ostrava never led in game two of their quarterfinal series in Pardubice, but they got timely goaltending from Filip Šindelář, had an answer both times they were scored on during regulation and eventually prevailed in a shootout to win the hockey game.

Pardubice captain Petr Koukal opened the scoring on a first-period power play when he won a battle for the rebound. After Šindelář made a great save in the opening minute of the second to prevent his team from falling behind two goals, the reliable duo of Jiří Burger and Viktor Ujčík worked some magic to tie the score, which was finished off by Ujčík's bullet that beat Martin Růžička.

As the game's midpoint approached, Vítkovice got a chance to to take the lead when they got a chance on the power play, but just as they did in game one, they surrendered a shorthanded goal, as Šindelář was helpless to stop Tomáš Zohorna's one-timer on a two-on-one. They did get it back, though, in the last minute of the second period while the teams played four-on-four; Jan Káňa had an easy tap in after a miscue by Pardubice forward Jan Kolář (not to be confused by the defenceman on the same team with the same name; they are unrelated).

Pardubice got a pair of power-play chances in the first half of the third period and was dangerous on them, but Šindelář stood tall in goal, making key stops against both of Pardubice's Jan Kolářs to keep the game tied. In overtime, he denied Kolář the forward once more.

In the shootout, Šindelář stopped both Pardubice shots he faced, one of them a nice poke-check against the forward Kolář, who just couldn't buy a break in this game. At the other end, Burger and Ujčík scored on two of Vítkovice's two three attempts to end the game.

Liberec 4 - 6 České Budějovice
(Best-of-seven series tied 1-1)

Jakub Kovář made 42 saves to help his team win on Friday.
Photo: Vladimíř Jína, hcbilitygri.cz.

With exactly one minute left in the second period, Marek Tročinský streaked across the blueline, took a feed from Daniel Špaček, and and perfectly fired a high shot over the glove of Jakub Kovář, the Budějovice goaltender who had given them fits to that point in the game, to give Liberec a 2-1 lead.

With a lead after two periods against the sometimes offensively challenged Mountfield club, it looked like the White Tigers were in good shape to take a two-game lead in the series. Early in the third period, while shorthanded, Lukáš Vantuch scored his second goal of the game when he got his own rebound and scored to make it 3-1. The Liberec squad appeared to be on its way. But the game changed, and it changed quickly.

Just 35 seconds later, Mountfield managed to cash in on their power play, which was still in progress, Martin Podlešák tipped in František Ptaček's point shot. Then, 43 seconds after that, the visitors caught a bit of a break when Peter Mikúš threw the puck toward the Liberec net and it hit forward Pavel Kašpařík on the instep of his right skate and went in to tie the score. Less than three minutes later, Jakub Langhammer was in the right place at the right time to give the club from South Bohemia its first lead of the game.

The barrage of goals in the period was not over yet, though. Liberec did tie the score when Tomáš Urban took a pass from Vantuch and fired a shot just under the crossbar. It was the fifth goal of the period, which was not yet half over.

Mountfield retook the lead with 7:08 on the clock when, on a two-on-one, Tomáš Mertl found Rudolf Červený, who put a perfect shot inside the post past the glove of Marek Pinc. But the dangerous Liberec offence wasn't just going to give up, and when Budějovice took a too-many-men penalty with 5:54 to go, the game was nearly tied again.

Petr Nedvěd, the league's leading scorer through the regular season but held pointless in this game, got his best chance of the night on the late power play, but was robbed at point-blank range by Kovář, who also took care of Michal Bárta's attempt from further out right afterward. Almost lost in all the third period scoring was the goaltending of Kovář, who has been the difference in so many of his team's games this season and was the reason they were within striking distance after two periods. He stopped 42 of 46 shots on the night.

Jiří Šimánek's empty-netter, the seventh goal of the period, made the final score 6-4. It was Šimánek's second goal of the game, part of a three-point game.


Both series are now idle for two days while the other two quarterfinal series, Sparta Praha-Brno and Plzeň-Zlín, get underway. The third and fourth games in Vítkovice and České Budějovice will be played on Monday and Tuesday.

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)

Walker and Pohl try to lead Vítkovice in Spengler

They didn't get the kind of start they were hoping for at the 2011 Spengler Cup, but fortunately for HC Vítkovice, the group stage of the tournament is very forgiving.

Nathan Walker (21) and Petr Pohl (55) have provided all of
Vítkovice's offence so far. blesk.cz

After losing 7-1 to Team Canada on Monday and 2-1 to HC Davos on Tuesday, Vítkovice finishes third in the Cattini Group and will now play a quarterfinal game on Thursday. Monday's game couldn't have started any worse, as the Canadians shelled goaltender Martin Falter for five goals in the first period.

The one moment for the Czech squad came midway through the third period, when Nathan Walker took a pass from Petr Pohl, fought off a Canadian defenceman and fired a shot off the post and in for the team's only goal of the game. At 17 years and 10 months, he is the youngest player to score a goal in Spengler Cup history. The Australian was chosen Vítkovice's player of the game and the Davos crowd cheered wildly both times his name was announced.

"It was a great feeling, very emotional for me," he said on the club's website about the moment he scored. "I just hope it will continue and the boys join me and mainly that things start to go better for the team."

Walker's production did continue the following day and things did go better for his team, but other than linemate Pohl, no new players registered points. Against Davos, the duo had a two-on-one and Pohl finished it to give Vítkovice a 1-0 lead early in the second period.

"First of all, Nathan won a battle for the puck in the defensive zone. The puck just went to me," explained Pohl. "Then we managed to get away two-on-one. Nathan at that time went very well to the net, which allowed me to gain time and space. Even so, I hit a defenceman, but then the puck came back on my stick and I had the opportunity. This time I successfully finished it."

Roman Málek, who stopped a penalty shot early in the game, was solid in goal. However, Rakovník's Petr Tatiček scored twice for the tournament hosts before the middle frame finished, and they held on for a 2-1 victory.

Starting Thursday, all games are sudden-death. Vítkovice's quarterfinal game starts at 15:00 Central European Time and will be against the second-place team from the Torriani Group, which will probably be the Kloten Flyers. The game can be seen in the Czech Republic and Slovakia on Nova Sport, throughout Europe on Eurosport 2, and in Canada on TSN2.

Vítkovice prepares for Spengler Cup

The week between Christmas and New Year's is a busy time in the hockey world, and on Monday, the oldest and most prestigious club hockey tournament in Europe, the Spengler Cup, begins in Davos, Switzerland. Though which countries are represented in the tournament changes from year to year, the Czech Republic is a constant presence at the event and this year has sent HC Vítkovice Steel to participate.

Vítkovice practicing at Vaillant Arena in Davos. hc-vitkovice.cz

As they do during the regular season, Vítkovice will look for offense from Jíři Burger and Jan Káňa, leadership on the back end from Marek Malík, and solid goaltending from Roman Málek. Besides these players, many fans in Switzerland and television viewers around the world will get their first opportunities to see 17-year-old rookie Nathan Walker play. The Australian, who has 4 goals and 3 assists in 25 Extraliga games this season and has played the last two games on the top line with Burger, was recently ranked 6th among eligible Czech players for the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. This was mostly due to the absence of veteran Viktor Ujčík, who is injured and will miss the Spengler Cup. The club's defence, which has also been bitten by the injury bug, has been reinforced by two pickups from the Swiss National League: Franco Collenberg and Gian-Andrea Randegger.

This is the third time that Vítkovice has participated in the Spengler Cup. They went previously in back-to-back years, 1980 and 1981, around the time they were the best team in Czechoslovakia. Both years, the tournament was won by Soviet club Spartak Moscow. In 1980, TJ Vítkovice, as they were then known, finished second with a 2-1-1 record. In 1981, they finished in a three-way tie for second at 2-2. Ladislav Svozil led the team with 4 goals in 1980, including a hat trick in a 6-0 shutout victory over Swedish club BK Färjestad. František Černík, the current club president, scored 2 goals that year and 3 more in 1981.

"For Vítkovice, it is primarily a great honour to participate in this tournament," said Černík on the team's website. Concerning his team's chances at this year's event, he said, "Other than a little nervousness, I have concerns about the roster we're sending to Davos. So many injuries right now. It's unfortunate they came around the time of the Spengler Cup. But in any case, I don't want to make excuses. We've strengthened the team with reinforcements, so I believe that ultimately we should be competitive in Davos."

Besides the Vítkovice team, other Czechs competing in the tournament are Pavel Brendl, Petr Sýkora and Petr Tatiček of the host Davos club, and Vojtěch Polák of the Kloten Flyers.

Just as was the format in 2011, the six competing teams are divided into two groups. The division winners advance straight to Friday's semifinals, while the second- and third-place teams play crossover quarterfinals on Thursday. This means that every team survives at least that far. The final will be played on Saturday, New Year's Eve, at 12:00 Central European Time.

Vítkovice's first game in the tournament will be against Team Canada, a perennial participant in this tournament, whose squad is composed mostly of Canadians who play in European leagues. This year's Canadian team is being coached by Marc Crawford and features Marty Turco in goal. Turco recently backstopped EC Red Bull Salzburg to the championship of the European Trophy. Monday's game will begin at 20:15 CET and can be seen on Nova Sport in the Czech Republic. Viewers in Canada can see the game on TSN 2, live at 2:15pm ET, 11:15am PT. Their second game will be against HC Davos, on Tuesday if they lose to Canada and on Wednesday if they beat them. All tournament games can be seen throughout Europe on Eurosport.

From spenglercup.ch, here is the tournament schedule (all times Central European):

Torriani Group 26.12. Kloten Flyers Dinamo Riga 15:00 27.12. GA Wolfsburg Loser Game 1 15:00 28.12. Winner Game 1 GA Wolfsburg 15:00 Cattini Group 26.12. Team Canada HC Vítkovice 20:15 27.12. HC Davos Loser Game 2 20:15 28.12. Winner Game 2 HC Davos 20:15 Quarterfinals 29.12. 2. Torriani Group 3. Cattini Group 15:00 29.12. 2. Cattini Group  3. Torriani Group 20:15 Semifinals 30.12. 1. Group Cattini Winner QF 1 15:00 30.12. 1. Group Torriani Winner QF 2 20:15 Final 31.12. Winner Semifinal 1 Winner Semifinal 2 12:00

Mrázek cleared for WJC, on preliminary roster

The Czech Republic hasn't fared well in recent World Junior Championships, but this year they will have one benefit that they did not have the past two seasons, that being the presence of goaltender Petr Mrázek.

Petr Mrázek will backstop the Czechs at this year's
WJC in Alberta. Photo: ottawa67s.blogspot.com.

In 2009, Mrázek and defenceman Adam Polášek left the Czech Republic and their Vítkovice club to join junior teams in Canada. Vítkovice protested, claiming that the players were not properly transferred and they still retained their playing rights. The club used this power to block the pair from playing for the Czech national junior team at the 2010 and 2011 World Junior Championships.

Polášek is now 20 years old, but Mrázek is 19 and still has another year of tournament eligibility. This time around, the Czech Ice Hockey Association was determined to have him on the team, and negotiated a financial settlement which freed him to play.

"This is an extremely helpful step in the interest of representing the Czech Republic, for which I want to thank both the management of HC Vítkovice Steel and personally (club president) František Černík," said ČSLH President Tomáš Král, upon announcing the news. "An extremely high level of competition awaits us in Canada, and we need a goalkeeper of the quality of Petr Mrázek."

Although goaltending has not been the team's only area of concern the past two years, they failed to qualify for the quarter-finals both times. Having the starting goaltender of the Ottawa 67's and draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings on its roster will give the Czech team a much better chance at advancing.

Five others will battle for the remaining two goaltending roster spots. None of them have WJC experience, but Matěj Machovský played very well for the Czech team at last year's U18 World Champonship in Germany.

Defenceman Bohumil Jank and forwards Jakub Culek, Martin Frk, Petr Holík and Petr Straka are the only returning players from last year's squad. All five are expected to not only make the team, but be leaders. Frk, who, barely aged 17, recorded 6 points in six games at last year's tournament in Buffalo, will again be the player who gets the most attention from scouts.

Additionally, defenceman David Musil and right winger Dmitrij Jaškin were both locks to be on last year's team, but both missed due to injury. Both were taken in the second round of last year's NHL Entry Draft, by Edmonton and St. Louis, respectively.

The European-based players will assemble in Rokycany on December 16 and then rendezvous with the North American-based players in Alberta for a short training camp beginning on the 18th. They play a pair of pre-tournament exhibition games before opening their Group B schedule against Denmark on December 27. Also competing in their group is Canada, the USA and Finland. The top three teams advance to the quarter-finals, with the top team receiving a bye to the semis.

Here is the preliminary roster:

Goaltenders:

Patrik Bartošák (Red Deer, WHL), Libor Kašík (Zlín/Olomouc), Tomáš Král (Oulu, Finland), Matěj Machovský (Brampton, OHL), Petr Mrázek (Ottawa, OHL), Roman Will (Moncton, QMJHL).

Defencemen:
 
Tomáš Bartejs (Chomutov), Marek Hrbas (Kamloops, WHL), Bohumil Jank (Poprad, KHL), Daniel Krejčí (Slavia Praha), Vojtěch Mozík (Ml. Boleslav), David Musil (Vancouver, WHL), Richard Nedomlel (Swift Current, WHL), Filip Pavlík (Třinec/Ústí), Jiří Říha (Liberec/Benátky), Daniel Sobotka (Sparta Praha/Beroun), Petr Zámorský (Zlín).

Forwards:
 
Jakub Culek (Rimouski, QMJHL), Tomáš Filippi (Baie-Comeau, QMJHL), Tomáš Fořt (Zlín), Martin Frk (Halifax, QMJHL), Tomáš Hertl (Slavia Praha), Petr Holík (Zlín), Tomáš Hyka (Gatineau, QMJHL), Dmitrij Jaškin (Slavia Praha), Jan Káňa (Brno), Denis Kindl (Montréal, QMJHL), Tomáš Nosek (Pardubice), Tomáš Rousek (Č. Budějovice), Petr Plaček (Harvard Univ., ECAC), Daniel Přibyl, Tomáš Rubeš (both Sparta Praha), Lukáš Sedlák (Chicoutimi, QMJHL), Jiří Sekáč (Poprad, KHL), David Stach (Lukko Rauma, Finland), Petr Straka (Rimouski, QMJHL), Michal Švihálek (Č. Budějovice), Dominik Uher (Spokane, WHL), Michal Vachovec (K. Vary), Jaroslav Vlach (Liberec/Benátky).

Coaches: Miroslav Přerost, Jiří Kučera, Jiří Fischer.

Pre-tournament exhibition games:

Tue, Dec 20: Czech Republic-Latvia (Okotoks)
Thu, Dec 22: Czech Republic-Russia (Lethbridge)

Group B games (at Edmonton):

Tue, Dec 27: Czech Republic-Denmark (6pm MT, 02:00 CET)
Wed, Dec 28: Canada-Czech Republic (6pm MT, 02:00 CET)
Fri, Dec 30: USA-Czech Republic (1:30pm MT, 21:30 CET)
Sat, Dec 31: Czech Republic-Finland (2pm MT, 22:00 CET)

Australian makes history in Extraliga debut

With information from Petr Polák of hokej.cz:

Australia's Nathan Walker made history on Sunday when he played for Vítkovice, becoming not only the first Australian to play in the Czech Extraliga, but to play in any European professional hockey league.

Photo: hc-vitkovice.cz.

The 17-year-old left winger, who normally suits up for Vítkovice's junior squad, dressed as the pro club's 13th forward in their home game against Mladá Boleslav. Despite his minor role in the game, he saw more ice time in the third period as his team built up a large lead, and assisted on Denis Rehák's goal, which gave Víktovice an 8-2 lead. They held on for an 8-4 victory.

Walker only found out earlier in the day that he would be making his professional debut. "The coach called me this morning to tell me to come to the game," he said. "I was immediately sure that this was a great chance. I felt a bit nervous, but it was not too bad, because I already played with Vítkovice in training camp and I knew my way around the team."

Walker, who has played in the Czech Republic for five years now, first made news when he scored 6 goals in a Junior Extraliga game last December. Overall, he recorded 40 points in 35 games last year at the junior level. He later represented Australia in the Division 2 World Championships in Melbourne, where he recorded 6 points in 4 games, helping the host nation win the group and qualify for the Division 1 tournament  in 2012 in nearby Krinyca-Zdrój, Poland, where he will presumably play again.

"I doubt that anybody notices in Australia, because there football and rugby are really popular," said Walker about his history-making feat. "Nobody cares about hockey, especially now with the World Cup of Rugby, but for my career it is great to play in the Extraliga," he said, smiling. "It's definitely better competition than in Australia."

Walker hopes that the Czech Extraliga isn't the final stop in his career. "I hope to play the NHL, but it remains to be seen." According to Vítkovice captain Jiří Burger, that's not out of the question. "I think we will hear it mentioned more," he said. "Sure, Nathan is on the small side, but he makes up for it with great skating."

Slovakia hires Czech coach

by Fredrik Pålsson
Eurohockey.com

The executive committee of the Slovak Ice Hockey Association announced on Wednesday that Klimkovice's Vladimír Vůjtek Sr. is the new coach of the Slovak national team. The contract runs from September 1, 2011 to 2012 with an option to extend it over the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Vladimír Vůjtek Sr., shown coaching Vítkovice.

Photo:  nicoletab.sblog.cz.

The senior Vůjtek, father of former NHLer Vladimír Vůjtek Jr., has been coaching in Russia for the last three seasons, last at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl. He also coached many years in the Czech Extraliga with Vítkovice, Zlín and Třinec. He won the Russian championship twice with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (2002 and 2003) and reached the final of the Czech Extraliga playoffs three times.

Vůjtek replaces Glen Hanlon, who coached Slovakia during the World Championship on home ice this spring. Their 10th-place finish was a huge disappointment and, with Vůjtek behind the bench, Slovakia has great hopes for better results.

Slovak Peter Oremus, who currenty is coach of HK 36 Skalica, was announced as his assistant coach.

KHL's Lev Poprad will have large Czech presence

The first KHL team outside the territory of the former Soviet Union was almost placed in the Czech Republic. In 2009, there was an attempt to place a franchise in Karlovy Vary that fell through due to the World Economic Crisis. A year later, HC Lev Hradec Králové was born, but was unable to get the necessary sanctioning from the Czech Ice Hockey Association, leading to their move eastward to the town of Poprad, in the Slovak Tatra Mountains.

Though they are no longer a Czech team, the club will have a familiar look to Czech hockey fans. Ten of the 24 players they currently have under contract are Czechs, along with nine Slovaks, three Swedes, a Canadian and an American. Additionally, three of the Slovaks played in the Czech Extraliga last season.

Of the ten Czechs, three are coming to Poprad from other KHL teams, while four are moving over from the Czech Extraliga. Two players, goaltender Tomáš Duba and forward Stanislav Balán, are joining the team from PSG Zlín, while Jiří Hunkes comes from Bílí Tygři Liberec and Bohumil Jank from Mountfield České Budějovice. Jank played last season with Drummondville of the QMJHL before returning home to Budějovice following his team's playoff exit. Another player coming from the CHL is Štěpan Novotný of the WHL's Swift Current Broncos.

But those aren't the only players that will be familiar to Czech fans. Some of the Slovaks on the roster have made names for themselves in the Czech Republic as well. Branislav Mazei and Rostislav Špirko both played in Pardubice last season and Rudolf Huna played for Vítkovice.

Defenceman Jakub Jeřábek of Plzeň was taken by Lev in this summer's KHL draft, but it appears he will remain in the Extraliga for at least another season.

Radim Rulík (far left) runs practice at Lev Poprad's inagural training camp. Photo: Jan Molnar, hclev.eu.

Head coach Radim Rulík is also Czech, hailing from Ostrov nad Ohří. Rulík has a long history coaching in the Czech Republic, particularly in Plžen and Karlovy Vary. He spent most of last season as an assistant coach with Sparta Praha. Back in June, Rulík foreshadowed the make-up of the team when he told World News--Russian Opinion, "My wish is that the team has only Czech and Slovak players. Then we will have a family atmosphere." Of course, there are a handful of other players on the team, but for the most part, Lev's roster is Czech and Slovak dominated. 

In addition to coaching in the Czech Republic, though, Rulík has also coached in the KHL, and knows the work he has ahead of him. The primary difference between the KHL and Czech Extraliga is the maturity of the players and the travel, he says. "The level of the KHL increases with each passing year. I would like to rely on core of veteran players aged 25 to 28. We want this main core to be more than than 12 players because we have a long flights. Believe me, I could see this when I worked for Avangard." 

That desire for a veteran presence may explain the club's foray into foreign talent. The five non-Czech or -Slovak players are all between the ages of 24 and 29.

In preparation for their initial KHL season, Lev will face a couple of the Czech Extraliga's best teams. Last year's finalists, champion Oceláři Třinec and runner-up Vítkovice Steel, will each host Slovakia's KHL entry on home ice, and once more in Slovakia. On August 9, Rudolf Hana will get a chance to face his former mates when Lev pays a visit to Ostrava's ČEZ Arena. The following day, they make the short journey to Třinec to take on Oceláři. Later, Vítkovice will play Lev again on August 20 when they face each other in the Tatranský Pohár (Tatran Cup) in Poprad. On August 28, Třinec and Lev renew acquaintances at the Cassovia Hockey Cup in Košice.

After their nine-game pre-season schedule has finished, Lev will open up the KHL regular season at home on September 10 against Roman Červenka and Avangard Omsk.

From the club's website, hclev.eu, here is Lev Poprad's inagural pre-season schedule:

	Date	Opponent	Location	CET
1	Thu, Aug 4	HK Spišská Nová Ves (Slovak 1.L)	ZŠ Spišská Nová Ves	18:00
2	Tue, Aug 9	HC Vítkovice Steel (Czech EL)	ČEZ Aréna, Ostrava	18:00
3	Wed, Aug 10	HC Oceláři Třinec (Czech EL)	Werk Aréna, Třinec	17:00
4	Thu, Aug 18	Graz 99ers (EBEL)	Aréna Poprad	16:00
5	Sat, Aug 20	HC Vítkovice Steel (Czech EL)	Aréna Poprad	19:00
6	Sun, Aug 21	TBD	Aréna Poprad	TBD
7	Fri, Aug 26	HC Košice (Slovak EL)	Steel Aréna, Košice	18:30
8	Sat, Aug 27	HC CSKA Moscow (KHL)	Steel Aréna, Košice	15:00
9	Sun, Aug 28	HC Oceláři Třinec (Czech EL)	Steel Aréna, Košice	15:00