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)

Extraliga Opening Day

It's time for the puck to drop on another Czech Extraliga season. The first game will, in fact, be an afternoon affair between BK Mladá Boleslav and PSG Zlín, beginning at 15:10 CET. The game can be seen live on ČT4 in the Czech Republic and online at ct24.cz/sport. The rest of Sunday's slate of games all begin at 17:00 or later, and  most of them can be viewed at tv.hokej.cz.

One of the more interesting opening-day matchups will occur in the northeastern corner of the country, where Oceláři Třinec will begin defence of their first-ever national championship on home ice against Kometa Brno. They were the league's most dominant team last year, finishing first overall during the regular season and then going 12-6 in the playoffs, winning seven of their last eight games.

One of the great things about the start of a new season is the fresh start that every team gets. Everyone is optimistic that they can improve on their fortunes from a year ago. But how realistic are those expectations? For comparison's sake, here are last year's final standings:

Place	Team	GP	W	OTW	OTL	L	GF	GA	Pts
1	HC Oceláři Třinec	52	26	5	8	13	178	136	96
2	HC Bílí Tygři Liberec	52	26	5	6	15	159	139	94
3	HC Vítkovice Steel	52	26	6	2	18	162	137	92
4	PSG Zlín	52	22	7	8	15	158	134	88
5	HC Eaton Pardubice	52	24	3	10	15	146	125	88
6	HC Mountfield České Budějovice	52	23	6	4	19	158	131	85
7	HC Slavia Prague	52	21	9	3	19	140	131	84
8	HC BENZINA Litvínov	52	23	2	4	23	133	162	77
9	HC Plzeň 1929	52	27	6	3	16	153	145	77*
10	HC Energie Karlovy Vary	52	15	7	12	18	152	154	71
11	HC Kometa Brno	52	19	5	1	27	130	146	68
12	HC Sparta Prague	52	14	6	3	29	115	142	57
13	HC Vagnerplast Kladno	52	10	3	5	34	105	172	35*
14	BK Mladá Boleslav	52	14	4	5	29	123	158	33*

Since last season's conclusion, some teams have overhauled their rosters so much that trying to predict where they will finish this year would be a daunting task. Logically, most of the teams that fit into that category were the ones that missed the playoffs last season, and last year's bottom three teams: Sparta Praha, Kladno and Mladá Boleslav, bear little resemblance to the ones that finished the 2011-12 season. 

Owner Jágr, flanked by Pavel Patera and Jiří Bicek in
Kladno's new jerseys. Photo: hc-kladno.cz.

The financially-strapped Kladno club was close to selling its Extraliga license in the off-season, but were saved by native-son Jaromír Jágr, who is now the club's owner. 

The new-look Kladno team has dumped the corporate name and adopted the catchy nickname "Rytíři" (Knights). As far as player personnel, the biggest name added to their roster is former NHLer Jan Hlaváč, who has spent most of the past three seasons in the Swedish Elitseren. 

The club's new website, rytirikladno.cz, will soon open. Currently, the new site displays the club's new logo and slightly modified colour scheme of double blue and gold.

While Kladno did all fans a favour by discarding a long corporate nickname, HC Pardubice went the opposite direction and adopted what is quite possibly the most cumbersome team name in the history of organised sport. HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice should again contend for the title, which is good news for their strong and loyal fans, but bad news for writers and broadcasters who have to use the name. 

Like Kladno, PSG Zlín has made a cosmetic change. They are keeping their trademark yellow and blue colours, but adopting what they are calling a "retro-modern" design, which includes a laced neck and stitched numbers and names. The names will also be above the number, as modelled by Antonín Honejsek below.

Photos: Daniel Ostrčilík, Zlínský Deník.

Keeping with the new Zlín sweaters, the Extraliga this season is returning to the policy of having the home team wear dark colours and the road team wear light. However, Zlín wishes to continue wearing yellow at home, and were seeking an exception.

As for who will win the championship, it would seem that the top teams from last season will probably remain so, but where exactly they finish is anyone's guess. One should keep in mind that Plzeň 1929 belongs in that group, even though they officially finished 9th last season. They were deducted 19 points mid-season, which otherwise would have landed them in a first-place tie with Třinec. 

For those who want detailed information about off-season player moves, team rosters and schedules, hokej.cz provides plenty of it, and is even manageable for readers who don't understand Czech. 

For a complete list of off-season roster moves, listed alphabetically by player, visit here: http://www.hokej.cz/index.php?lng=CZ&view=prestupy&id=539

Complete opening-day rosters of all teams, along with some interesting statistics, can be found here: http://www.hokej.cz/index.php?lng=CZ&view=clanek&id=53494

Finally, the complete Extraliga schedule, by individual rounds of matches, can be found here: http://www.hokej.cz/index.php?lng=CZ&webid=385&id=539&view=

Sunday's games, which is actually the second round, are:

Mladá Boleslav	Zlín	15:10
Slavia Praha	Karlovy Vary	17:00
Oceláři Třinec	Kometa Brno	17:00
Pardubice	Bílí Tygři Liberec	17:00
Rytíři Kladno	Sparta Praha	17:30
Litvínov	České Budějovice	17:30
Plzeň 1929	Vítkovice	17:30

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.

European Trophy starts Thursday

The European Trophy, a 24-team, six-nation pre-season tournament kicks off on Thursday, with three Czech teams in action against Swedish opponents.

Pardubice fans will get a chance to see Jan Hlaváč

suit up for visiting Linköpings on Thursday.

Photo:  hockey.expressen.se.

Two open at home: Sparta Praha hosts Jönköping-based HV71 at Tesla Arena, while cumbersomely-named ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice take to the ice at ČEZ Arena against Linköpings HC, whose roster includes ex-Sparta players Jan Hlaváč and Jaroslav Hlinka. Slavia Praha, meanwhile, travels to Stockholm to take on Djurgårdens IF.

"The players feel that this competition is on a different level. The European Trophy is something else," said Pardubice general manager Zbyněk Kusý, comparing the tournament to normal pre-season games. "I'm sure it will be something different than we were accustomed to when playing with a team from the Extraliga or First League, where the main goal before the season is to avoid injury. This will be more competitive, a chance to test ourselves against European clubs, so it will surely be an attractive sporting event."

For now, the European Trophy is only a pre-season tournament, but there are rumours that member clubs would like to see it grow into more. That could possibly mean as inter-league competition that would complement existing national leagues, or as an entirely separate entity that would become the top tier of hockey in Europe and compete with the Russian-based KHL for top talent.

The European Trophy is not affiliated with the IIHF. The sport's world governing body tried to re-launch the Champions Hockey League last season, but that attempt was aborted due to ongoing disputes with clubs and leagues over its 2009 termination.

More information, including the schedule and how to follow games live can be found at the tournament's website, 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 advances to finals, Slavia 1 win away

There will be a new champion of the Czech Extraliga in 2011, as defending champion Eaton Pardubice was eliminated in the semifinals. On Sunday, Vítkovice Steel became the first team to qualify for this year's final with a 3-2 shootout victory to win the series, four games to one.

Vítkovice played early on like they wanted to finish the series and scored in the early going, but the goal was negated after a lengthy video review determined that the net was slightly ajar. Undaunted, the home team kept the pressure on and quickly got a pair of goals 45 seconds from Petr Vrána and Viktor Ujčík apart for a 2-0 lead. The score stayed that way into the third period when Pardubice got a quick pair of its own. Petr Koukal finally solved Roman Málek on a power-play and then Aleš Píša tied the game 45 seconds later. After no goals were scored in 10 minutes of overtime or in the first five rounds of the shootout, Jiří Burger beat Martin Růžička in round six for the series-winning goal. Ružička relieved Adam Svoboda in the Pardubice net, who stopped 40 shots in 70 minutes of hockey.

"For me, personally, that we finished so quickly," began Ujčík, regarding the importance of finishing off the series in 5 games. "Of course, (age) 39 is around the corner and we won four games to one, so that's perfect. I can rest a bit, definitely mentally and physically."

"I don't ever want to wish to play anybody," he continued, when asked who he wanted to face in the final. "But if I have to say who I really want this time, it would be Slavia," said the ex-Slavia and Třinec forward.

They could find out their opponent as early as Monday night, as Slavia Praha travels to Třinec to try to wrap up that series; they currently lead it 3-1. Třinec, who were the league's top team during the regular season, won the first game but have now lost three in a row, including two in Prague on Friday and Saturday.

Miroslav Kopřiva turned away everything he faced on Saturday
night. Photo: Pavel Vrtiška, hc-slavia.cz.

On Friday night, Slavia's Vladimír Roth opened the scoring in the first period and then finished it with a goal in overtime, as Slavia won 4-3 to take the lead in the series. The following night, goaltender Miroslav Kopřiva was the hero, as he stopped all 37 shots he faced in a 4-0 victory. The game was played before a crowd of 13,052, the largest of the Extraliga playoffs so far, but a number sure to be eclipsed if Slavia advances to the final.

Game 5 goes Monday at 18:10 in Třinec, and will be televised live on ČT4.

Defending champs Pardubice on the brink

After winning eight consecutive playoff games at home, Eaton Pardubice dropped back-to-back games against Vítkovice Steel on Wednesday and Thursday, and now find themselves in a very difficult situation.

After earning a split on the road to start the series, Pardubice looked to be in a good position heading to the friendly confines of (their) ČEZ Arena. However, they were stymied by Vítkovice goaltender Roman Málek in game 3, who stopped all 34 shots he faced, and lost 3-0, creating a nearly-must-win situation in game 4. They turned in a solid performance and, on the strength of second-period goals by Tomáš Zohorna and Jan Starý, were three minutes away from evening the series. However, Petr Vrána tied the score with 2:47 remaining in regulation time and then struck again in overtime to capture the game for Vítkovice, giving them a commanding 3-1 series lead.

Pardubice will have to get more traffic in front of Vítkovice goalie
Roman Málek of they hope to prolong their title defence. Photo:
Jan Jedlička, hcpce.cz.

The defending champions now find themselves in the unenviable position of having to win three games in a row, two of which would be on the road. Their biggest challenge seems to be a way to solve Málek in the Vítkovice goal, who has been nearly unbeatable.

"More traffic in front of the net, shooting more and going hard at Málek for loose pucks," was Starý's suggestion for what they have to do better. "Continue working hard, but especially around the net, not letting up there."

The series resumes on Sunday at Ostrava's ČEZ Arena, where Vítkovice will try to advance to the finals.

On Friday and Saturday, the other semifinal series resumes in Prague, with Slavia hosting Oceláři Třinec in games 3 and 4. The series is tied 1-1.

Friday is a busy day for die-hard Slavia hockey fans. The U20 team can advance to the Junior Extraliga finals with a win over Orli Znojmo at Eden. That game begins at 15:30. Fans then will quckly have to travel from Kubánské náměstí to Českomoravská to catch the opening faceoff at O2 Arena at 18:10.

Pardubice earns split in Vítkovice, Ujčík sets playoff goal mark

Víktovice Steel and Eaton Pardubice split the first two games of their Extraliga semifinal series on the weekend and a Víktovice veteran established the new career playoff goals record.

In the first game, Jiří Burger opened the scoring in the last minute of the first period and closed the scoring late in the third, as Vítkovice drew first blood with a 4-0 home-ice victory. Roman Málek made 30 saves for the shutout.

Vítkovice's Viktor Ujčík (visible at the side of the net) scores to
become the Extraliga's all-time playoff goal-scoring leader, as
Pardubice's František Kaberle watches helplessly. Photo: Petr
Kotala, hc-vitkovice.cz.

On Sunday, it was Pardubice's turn to open the scoring in the last minute of the first period, with Petr Koukal doing the honours. Midway through the third, Koukal assisted on Jan Starý's eventual game-winner, as the visitors withstood some late pressure and escaped with a narrow 3-2 victory to even the series. Martin Růžička stopped 34 of 36 shots.

Viktor Ujčík scored both of Vítkovice's goals in the second game, the latter with only 27 seconds remaining. He now has 53 career playoff goals in the Czech Extraliga, making him the league's all-time playoff goal-scoring leader.

"Well, I've been playing hockey for about 40 years, so it's something that's eventually going to happen. I guess I got a merit award," he said dismissively about the historic event. "And the two goals today? The first one was beautifully set up by Jiří Burger. It was impossible to miss. And the other one, I tried to put it from the side into the goalie and it deflected between his legs and into the net. Unfortunately for us, it wasn't enough."

The 38-year-old veteran has played 16 seasons at the top level of Czechoslovak and Czech hockey. Teams include Dukla Jihlava, Slavia Praha, Oceláři Třinec, Keramika Plzeň, Sparta Praha, and Vítkovice, with whom he's spent the last 4 years. He also played 3 seasons in the Finnish SM-liiga for Karpat Oulu. He represented the Czech Repbulic at the 2001 and 2002 World Championships, getting 13 points in 16 games combined and winning a gold medal in '01. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2001 as a 29 year old, but has never played in a North American league.

The series resumes in Pardubice on Wednesday and Thursday. Regardless of what happens there, it will surely return to Ostrava for a fifth game on Sunday.

The other semifinal series between Oceláři Třinec and Slavia Praha begins on Monday. The game begins at 17:00 and will be available live on the internet at www.ct24.cz/sport, but the television broadcast will be tape-delayed until 19:30. The second game, on Tuesday, will be televised live at 18:10. The series will then shift to Prague for games 3 and 4 on Friday and Saturday.

Also starting monday is the final series of the First National League. The series, which is between Slovan Ústečtí Lvi and KLH Chomutov, will determine who has the right to challenge BK Mladá Boleslav for a position in the Extraliga next season.

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.