Kovář out-duels Koskinen, leads Czechs to victory at home

Written for Eurohockey.com.

On home ice, the Czech Republic prevailed 2-0 over Finland in the opening game for both teams in the Channel One Cup. In a duel between Finn Mikko Koskinen and Czech Jakub Kovář, veteran Petr Nedvěd was the only player to beat either one of them, with a power-play marker late in the second period.

Petr Nedvěd was the only player to score on one of the two
goalies at O2 Arena on Thursday. Photo: hokej.cz.

"We had some opportunities early in the game but we didn't play the power play well," Nedvěd began, referring to the fact that his team had the first three power plays of the game -- including a two-man advantage for 1:04 in the first three minutes of the game -- but it remained scoreless. 

"For a goalie, that's a good way to start," said Koskinen, who got into the game early with several shots, but nothing too difficult. "I saw most of the shots -- it was pretty easy that way."

Exactly how many shots Koskinen or Kovář faced remains a mystery, as no totals were announced in the arena or published anywhere officially afterward -- quite possibly they weren't counted -- but the Czechs had a clear advantage in the first period, less so in the second period as the Finns got some chances, and then the final period was all Finland -- and Kovář.

After going 0 for 3 on first period power plays, the Czechs got their one and only advantage of the second period late, when Mikko Mäenpää went off for holding -- a call he wasn't impressed with on the ice but showed restraint when questioned about it afterward.

"It's the kind of play that happens 25 times in a game and I got a penalty for it," he sighed. "I can't really say anything about it. They scored a nice goal. That's what happens. There's nothing we can do about it anymore."

Nedvěd and Roman Červenka, two of the more talented forwards on this Czech team who showed great chemistry together all night, were finally able to manufacture a goal with some nice passing and an absolute rocket of a wrist shot from Nedvěd from the hash marks near the right-wing boards that beat Koskinen high to the glove side.

"I got to the spot where I like it and it was a wrist shot," Nedvěd described. "(Koskinen)'s a big goalie and he played really well today. He stopped a lot of the high shots but this one I held it, held it and he went down a little bit and I fired it upstairs."

Koskinen's description is similar, in that he made the first move which gave Nedvěd the opening: "It was a good shot but I didn't give myself the best chance to save it so I'm a little pissed off at myself right now."

Whereas the Czechs got the bulk of the power play in first two periods, the tables turned in the third. Finland had all three power plays in the third period, including a two-man advantage for 1:12 in the early going. Like the Czechs, they didn't cash in, but they came oh-so-close.

The third period belonged to Kovář, and with his team down two men he put his exclamation point on the game. The Finns moved the puck around the perimeter, and defencemen Petteri Nummelin and Anssi Salmela both shot from the point. After the second one, the Czech goalie was down and out with Janne Pesonen on the doorstep staring at a yawning cage, but out came Kovář's left pad to make a save that must have seemed like an optical ellusion to a lot of the 13 096 in attendance. Even Pesonen stood there with a dumbfounded look on his face. He had had the tying goal on his stick.

"Every goalie feels better when he gets lots of shots," a jovial Kovář said afterward, echoing the sentiments of Koskinen, but doing his best to deflect credit away from himself.

Head coach Alois Hadamczik was less restrained in his praise, though: "He was as clutch as Hašek in Nagano," raved the coach who will ultimately decide who to take to these upcoming Olympics. 

"We had lots of chances and I've gotta say that their goalie played a pretty good game," said Mäenpää, who was on the point a lot in the third period on the power play, and got a few shots through to Kovář. "I don't know, when you get those kinds of chances, you just have to have more of a killer instinct and get in there when the chances come. Maybe we were too soft today, but again, I have to give credit to their goalie."

With about eight minutes to play, there was another flurry in Kovář's crease, but he stopped the first shot, then the rebound while down on the ice. 

"When it was 1-0, we had some good scoring chances, especially five-on-three, but we just couldn't score," said Finnish coach Erkka Westerlund, who couldn't find much fault in his team's game, despite the loss. "I think the offence and defence were quite even between the two teams and both goalies were very, very good." 

Westerlund called his timeout with 1:43 left and pulled Koskinen for a sixth attacker, but that allowed Jaroslav Hlinka to fire a shot from right in front of his own net, all the way down into the unguarded net to make it a 2-0 final.

The buzz around the arena at the end of the game was that Kovář had played his way onto the Olympic roster, if his spot there wasn't already assured. But what about others?

"Everyone on the team would like to go to the Olympics," concluded Nedvěd, who won a silver medal with Canada in 1994. "There isn't enough room for everybody here, though. We all know that most of the players will come from the NHL, but some players from Europe will go, for sure. That'll be the coaches' decision."

In the meantime, both teams now head to Sochi, where they will play Sweden and Russia this weekend. 

25 Czech Olympic hopefuls hit the ice in Prague Thursday, then on to Sochi

Along with players from the nine other European countries that will be sending team's to the men's hockey tournament at the Winter Olympics, this weekend's international break represents the last chance Czechs based in Europe will have a chance to play together for Alois Hadamczik and his national team coaching staff and try to earn a coveted roster spot.

Roman Červenka is looking to make a return
trip to the Winter Olympics.
Photo: bleacherreport.com.

What makes this weekend's Channel One Cup so competitive for the Czechs and the other three countries there is that they are not only competing against each other, but also against numerous players who are currently in the NHL. How many spots are available to European-based players is tough to say, but they will be limited.

"There are a lot of quality players, both here in Europe and overseas," Jiří Novotný  told LevPraha.com's Karolina Antošová. An experienced international player who has twice captained the Czech team at the World Championships, Novotný was asked his chances of making the Olympic squad, to which he responded: "I think everyone on the roster has a chance. Maybe I'll know more after this tournament."

The roster of 25 players, which Novotný was referring to, contains a lot of familiar names:

Goaltenders: Alexandr Salák (St Petersburg, KHL), Jakub Kovář (Yekaterinburg, KHL). 

Defencemen: Petr Čáslava (Cherepovets, KHL), Ondřej Němec, Martin Ševc (both Lev Praha, KHL), Tomáš Kaberle (Rytíři Kladno), Lukáš Krajíček (Dinamo Minsk, KHL), Tomáš Mojžíš (Slovan Bratislava, KHL), Michal Barinka (HC Vítkovice Steel), Petr Zámorský (PSG Zlín). 

Forwards: Roman Červenka (St Petersburg, KHL), Jan Kovář (Magnitogorsk, KHL), Tomáš Vincour (Kazan, KHL), Jiří Novotný, Jiří Sekáč (both Lev Praha, KHL), Zbyněk Irgl (Dinamo Minsk, KHL), Michal Vondrka (Slovan Bratislava, KHL), Petr Nedvěd (Bílí Tygři Liberec), Jaroslav Hlinka, Jan Buchtele (both HC Sparta Praha), Jiří Šimánek (Mountfield Hradec Králové), Robert Kousal, Tomáš Nosek, Lukáš Radil (all HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice).

There's an abundance of international experience on that list, but only three have Olympic experience. Tomáš Kaberle has played twice -- 2002 in Salt Lake City and 2006 in Turin, and two others have played once: Roman Červenka played for the Czechs in Vancouver four years ago and, incredibly, Petr Nedvěd played for Canada in Lillehammer 20 years ago.

Of the three, Červenka probably has the best chance of returning. In 2010 he was a 24-year-old centre in the midst of scoring 30 goals in 50 Czech Extraliga games. Four years later, following a couple of productive years in the KHL and a brief stint in the NHL before a return to the wider KHL ice, where he has more success, he has 29 points in 37 games as a play-making winger. His flexibility should work to his advantage.

"Over the last four years I have played various roles, so it won't be major problem," Červenka said to hokej.cz, when the topic about where he could fit in with the team was brought up. As with most players, though, he wanted to talk more about this weekend. "Everyone knows that the team will be named soon, but if you start thinking that if you don't play well in this tournament you're not going to Sochi, you can really mess yourself up."

Like the Olympic tournament itself, the majority of the Channel One Cup will be played in Sochi, Russia, but one game between the Czech Republic and Finland will be played at O2 Arena in Prague, which will give Czech hockey fans a chance to see Olympic hopefuls from the two countries. 

"A lot of people will come to Prague to watch us, and we want to win for them," Červenka added.

The Czechs will go with three forward lines and seven defencemen for Thursday's game against Finland, with Jakub Kovař starting in goal. Both he and Alexandr Salák are expected to get in games this weekend. While Ondřej Pavelec is expected to be the Czech starting goalie in the Olympics, the door is open for one of these two, or possibly both, to make the roster as a number two or number three. Kovař isn't admitting to any pressure, though. 

"From my own experience, I know that too much does not depend on one game," Thursday's starting goalie coolly explained. "I've been on the national team a few times before. The Olympics are obviously something else, but one game or one goal against won't decide it for me. I'll wait til I'm notified by the coaches." 

Winger Zbyněk Irgl will not play on Thursday due to a lower-body injury, but might play on the weekend in Sochi. Kaberle will only play in Prague, then fly overseas to be with his family. According to hokej.cz, the Czech Republic's roster on Thursday will be the following:

Jakub Kovář, Salák - Kaberle, Ševc, Krajíček, Barinka, Němec, Čáslava, Zámorský, Mojžíš - Nedvěd, Hlinka, Červenka - Sekáč, Jan Kovář, Vondrka - Vincour, Novotný, Šimánek - Buchtele, Kousal, Nosek.

Schedule for the 2013 Channel One Cup:

Thursday, December 19:

16:00 Russia - Sweden (Sochi)
18:30 Czech Republic - Finland (O2 Arena, Prague)

Saturday, December 21:

11:00 Russia - Finland (Sochi)
16:00 Czech Republic - Sweden (Sochi) 

Sunday, December 22:

11:00 Russia - Czech Republic (Sochi)
16:00 Finland - Sweden (Sochi)

All times Central European. Live play-by-play commentary of all games will be available at Eurolivescores.com.

Kovář saving Czechs in goal

After winning the Euro Hockey Tour last weekend, competing in Brno against Europe's best hockey nations with nearly-complete rosters, many were optimistic about the Czech Republic's medal chances at this year's World Championship. Indeed, many still are.

Jakub Kovář makes a save in the shootout vs Norway.

Photo: aktualne.centrum.cz.

If there was an area of concern on this Czech team, it was in goal. Accustomed to getting strong performances from the likes of Dominik Hašek, Tomáš Vokoun and, last year, Ondřej Pavelec, they entered this tournament without an NHL netminder, meaning the duties are being split by Jakub Štěpánek, who has a somewhat spotty international record, and Jakub Kovář, who has performed brilliantly in the past two Czech Extraliga campaigns, but had never before played in a top-level international event.

So far, Kovář has played in two of the Czechs' three games, against Denmark and Norway. And while it may not be surprising to many people that he performed brilliantly, the fact that he had to might, against two opponents that are perceived to be weaker.

On Friday, Kovář opened the tournament with a 2-0 win, and while a shutout against Denmark is not something that's going to make many people stand up and notice, anyone who watched it saw Kovář keep his team in it while it was still scoreless in the second period, particularly during a stretch where they had to kill off three straight penalties. If not for his brilliant play at that point in the game, in which his team was out-shot 26-24, it is easily conceivable that the Czechs would not have taken the full three points.

In Kovář's next game, on Monday against Norway, they didn't take the full three points; only two. However, despite the fact that is was another game against an opponent that the Czechs have a clear advantage in talent and are expected to outplay, it was the play of Kovář that got the game to overtime. Then, in the shootout, he stopped all three shots he faced, to make sure his team salvaged at least something from its dismal performance.

According to Kovář himself, though, part of the issue is that these teams are not as weak as people think.

"For us it was another difficult game. Everybody thinks that the Norwegians are weak, but they showed against us that they're stronger than that."

Of course, in between the two games, the Czechs were badly outplayed by Sweden and lost 4-1 with Štěpánek in net. Now with two days off, the Czechs return to action with back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday against Latvia and Italy, two more so-called weaker teams. Kovář will start Thursday and, presumably, Štěpánek will on Friday. Who starts against Russia on Sunday and Germany on Tuesday will surely depend on those performances.

"I did not expect we would alternate in goal, I did not expect it," said Kovář, who seems to be the only one not impressed with his play. "I thought that I would play once, maybe twice in the tournament. On Thursday will be my fourth." 

As for sharing the load, neither goalie apparently has a problem with it. "I don't have a problem with it, and Kuba (Štěpánek) doesn't either. We talk to each other about it, and one cheers the other on."

Latvia, who has beaten Germany already and currently sits in third place in Group S, one spot ahead of the Czechs, will be no pushover. Though the Czechs are confident that they will get good goaltending in the game, they are also hoping that they will play better in front. To that end, they have shuffled the lines around a bit.

NHL reinforcements might help, too, but they won't arrive by Thursday, and they won't be as numerous as originally hoped. Despite three Czechs on the recently-eliminated Philadelphia Flyers, only one, Jakub Voráček, might join the team, but he's still a question mark. Jaromír Jágr and Pavel Kubina have both declined.

"We spoke on Wednesday," said coach Alois Hadamczik. "Voráček has been having problems with his shoulder, so on Wednesday he had to undergo a medical examination. Then we'll see."

Martin Erat of the Nashville Predators is scheduled to arrive in Stockholm on Friday morning, but whether he plays that day has still not been determined.


All quotations are courtesy Eurohockey.com and Hokej.cz.

Nedvěd and Mrázek highlight Czech roster for Worlds

This past weekend, the Czech national team won the Euro Hockey Tour, a prospect that looked unlikely earlier in the year. However, by taking 7 of a possible 9 points, they overtook Sweden and Russia, whom they beat on Thursday and Sunday, respectively, to win their first title in the 14-year history of the unofficial European championship.

At age 40, Petr Nedvěd will make his World Championship
debut. Photo: Hakan Nordstom, AP.

The following day, they released a list of 25 names that will accompany the team to Stockholm, where they will begin play at the World Championship on Friday against Denmark. As always, the World Championship roster is a work in progress, as players can be added as they become available following their teams' elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs, and a maximum of 20 skaters and three goaltenders are allowed to dress in the tournament.

As things currently stand, the Czech roster is light on NHLers, relying heavily on players from European leagues, particularly the Czech Extraliga and KHL, unsurprisingly, but it also includes defencemen Tomáš Mojžíš and Zdeněk Kutlák, who play in Finland and Switzerland, respectively.

Up front, two additions that did not play this past weekend include dispatched NHLers David Krejčí and Milan Michálek. Michálek played on last year's squad, while Krejčí was a member of the Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins. 

"We have the idea to put them both together," said coach Alois Hadamczik about the new additions. "With whom, it remains to be seen. I have to say that our plans have been slightly affected by the quality performance against Russia."

Two of the most eye-catching names on the roster are the oldest and youngest players, Petr Nedvěd and Petr Mrázek, neither of whom were considered likely candidates to be in this position at the start of the season. Until this season, neither was even eligible to represent the Czech Republic internationally.

That being said, Nedvěd's inclusion on the roster was anything but a surprise when it was finally announced. The 40-year-old led the Czech Extraliga in scoring this past season and was named league MVP. In November, he represented the Czech Republic for the first time since 1996 and, in 12 international games this season, recorded 8 points. His lengthy absence from the Czech national team roster is due to the fact that he represented Canada, the country he defected to as a teenager, at the 1994 Winter Olympics. After that, the dual citizen had to play three consecutive seasons in the country of his birth to be re-eligible to play for them in an IIHF championship, which became the case after last season. At 40 years and five months, Nedvěd becomes the oldest player to participate in his first IIHF World Championship.

The outstanding goalie of the WJC, Petr Mrázek is now on the
A-team roster. Photo: Larry Wong, Edmonton Journal.

The youngest player on the roster has never played internationally for any other country, but until last December, he couldn't play for the Czechs. Goaltender Petr Mrázek left his Vítkovice club in 2009, at the age of 17, to join the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League. Despite solidly defending the goal of the club in the Canadian junior circuit, his angry Vítkovice squad blocked his attempts to play internationally for his homeland, insisting his transfer was incomplete and demanding compensation. 

After two years had passed, the Czech Ice Hockey Association intervened in the dispute, helping to negotiate a settlement under which Mrázek would be allowed to represent the Czech Republic at the most recent World Junior Championships. The goalie made the most of the opportunity, backstopping the Czech Republic to a quarterfinal birth for the first time in four years and being named the tournament's outstanding goalkeeper.

Mrázek's spot on the roster comes at the expense of Tomáš Pöpperle, who had a remarkable season in goal for Sparta Praha, but was clearly the third man on the goaltending totem pole, and his future on this year's team seemed certain after he failed to appear in the final leg of the Euro Hockey Tour.

Even Mrázek's appearance in any games seems unlikely, as the top two spots seem to be sewn up by Jakub Štěpánek and Jakub Kovář. In all probability, both will see action. However, it's unclear at this point who will get the starting assignment when the games become crucial.

As for future additions, a number of talented Czechs still remain in the second round of the NHL playoffs, including Jaromír Jágr, Pavel Kubina, Jakub Voráček, Tomáš Fleischmann, Patrik Eliáš, Petr Sýkora, Marek Židkický, Martin Hanzál, Rostislav Klesla, Roman Polák, Vladimír Sobotka and Roman Hamrlík. Any whose teams are eliminated could become candidates to join the team.

Below is the current roster of the Czech national team and its Pool B schedule at the 2012 IIHF World Championship in Helsinki and Stockholm.


Goaltenders:

Jakub Štěpánek (St. Petersburg, KHL), Jakub Kovář (České Budějovice), Petr Mrázek (Ottawa, OHL).

Defencemen:

Petr Čáslava (CSKA Moscow, KHL), Ondřej Němec (Cherepovets, KHL), Miroslav Blaťák, Jakub Nakládal (both Ufa, KHL), Jakub Kindl (Detroit, NHL), Lukáš Krajíček (Minsk, KHL), Tomáš Mojžíš (Turku, Finland), Zdeněk Kutlák (Ambri-Piotta, Switzerland).

Forwards:

Tomáš Plekanec (Montréal, NHL), David Krejčí (Boston, NHL), Milan Michálek (Ottawa, NHL), Aleš Hemský (Edmonton, NHL), Michael Frolík (Chicago, NHL), Tomáš Vincour (Dallas, NHL), Lukáš Kašpar, Jiří Novotný (both Astana, KHL), Petr Průcha (St. Petersburg, KHL), Jakub Petružálek (Khabarovsk, KHL), Petr Nedvěd (Bílí Tygři Liberec), Petr Koukal (Pardubice), Michal Vondrka (Slavia Praha), Jan Kovář (Plzeň 1929), Petr Tenkrát (Sparta Praha).

Coaches: Alois Hadamczik and Josef Paleček

Czech Republic "Group B" schedule at the IIHF World Championships. All games will be played in Stockholm:

Friday, May 4:
16:15  Czech Republic - Denmark

Saturday, May 5:

20:15  Czech Republic - Sweden

Monday, May 7:

16:15  Czech Republic - Norway

Thursday, May 10:

20:15  Czech Republic - Latvia

Friday, May 11:

16:15  Czech Republic - Italy

Sunday, May 13:

16:15  Czech Republic - Russia

Tuesday, May 15:

16:15  Czech Republic - Germany

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.

EHT resumes in Sweden, fierce competition for roster spots

The Euro Hockey Tour is an annual series of four tournaments hosted by the four top nations in European hockey, Finland, Russia, Sweden and the Czech Republic, at various points in the year. Its purpose is to give  European-based players some international experience and the opportunity to audition for coveted roster spots in the IIHF World Championships, which are held at the end of the year.

Often enemies on the ice, brothers Jan (#43) and Jakub (goalie)
Kovář will be teammates at the upcoming Oddset Hockey Games.
Photo: Slavomír Kubeš, MF DNES.

On Thursday, the third leg of the 2011-12 Tour, the Oddset Hockey Games, will begin in Stockholm and Helsinki, coincidentally the two cities that will co-host the next two World Championships. The Czech Republic will play Sweden that day, followed by Finland on Saturday and Russia on Sunday. All three of their games will be in the Swedish capital.

For this third tournament, the Czech roster features somewhat of a hybrid of the first two, with some new additions as well. The rosters for the first two tour stops were quite different, which was due to injuries and also to the fact that players from the three Czech teams that were competing in the Red Bull Salute the same weekend were not available. After going 0-3 at the Karjala Cup in November, the team finished second place at the Channel One Cup in December, and some strong performances in that tournament have resulted in return invitations.

One of those is in goal, where Tomáš Pöpperle, a substitution for Jakub Kovář, whose České Budějovice club was in the Red Bull Salute, was solid in a victory over Finland. This time around, Pöpperle and Kovař will form the goaltending duo, with Jakub Štěpánek, the team's starting goalie in the first two tournaments, being given the week off.

"We agreed that Jakub would play in two events, and then give an opportunity to Pöpperle and Kovař," explained coach Alois Hadamczik. Štěpánek is widely considered to be the best Czech goaltender outside the NHL, while Pöpperle and Kovař have consistently been the best in the domestic circuit over the past couple of seasons. Pöpperle has been spectacular this season for first-place Sparta Praha. With an NHL goaltender, possibly Tomáš Vokoun, Michal Neuwirth or Ondřej Pavelec, likely to take at least one roster spot in the final leg of the EHT, which will be played in Brno in April, and then the World Championships afterward, competition among goaltenders is fierce.

In fact, giving as many players as possible the chance to audition is a common theme: only defenceman Jakub Nakládal and forwards Petr Průcha, Zbyněk Irgl, Jakub Klepiš and Petr Hubáček are returning for a third go-around. Being given their first opportunities of the season are defencemen Michal Barinka and Jan Kolář and forwards Tomáš Netík, who spent most of the season with the KHL's Lev Poprad, Michal Vondrka, Jan Kolář (no relation to the defenceman of the same name on the team) and Jan Kovář, goaltender Jakub's younger brother.

Though the brothers Kovář have both worn Czech national colours before, this will be the first time that they will play together. "It's an experience not only for us but for the whole family," said Jakub. Meanwhile, Jan says that by playing together they "will fulfill (their) dream".

As is often the case, injuries are the cause of some of the absences, with defencemen Lukáš Krajiček, Miroslav Blaťak, Martin Škoula, Petr Čáslava and Filip Novák and forwards Roman Červenka and Petr Vrána all out with various ailments. Some of these are more precautionary than anything, with playoffs looming in various leagues. 

The captains of each previous team, Petr Nedvěd and Tomáš Rolinek, will both be on this team, with Rolinek retaining the captaincy from the Moscow tournament. In choosing the captain, Hadamczik said, "Petr is an experienced player looking forward to meeting everyone. He wants to play, whether captain or not. (Rolinek) has had success with the national team, so no need to change anything. Petr Nedvěd can certainly command respect with his experience and age."

He won't be captain this time, but Petr Nedvěd will once again play
for the Czech nats. Photo: Håkan Nordström, AP.

Nedvěd, 40, made news in November when he represented the Czech Republic for the first time since September 1996, and led the team with three goals in three games. "In Finland, I was pleasantly surprised that I could skate at that level. I was good enough for them, which is positive. Before that, I was not quite sure, because the speed and commitment at the higher level."

Currently the leading scorer in the Extraliga with 56 points, it would certainly be a story if he were to earn a spot in his first-ever World Championship. "It's not worth speculating about the World Championships right now. A lot of factors still have to be accounted for: how many players come from the NHL, how we do in the Extraliga with Liberec, and the like. Of course, I'll try. I'll give it my best and then we'll see what happens."

Below is the Czech roster for the 2011-12 for the Oddset Hockey Games, followed by the tournament schedule. The information, as well as quotes above, are courtesy hokej.cz. The current Euro Hockey Tour standings are from eht.cz.

Goaltenders:

Jakub Kovář (HC Mountfield České Budějovice), Tomáš Pöpperle (HC Sparta Praha).

Defencemen:

Ondřej Němec (Cherepovets, KHL), Michal Barinka (Fribourg, Switzerland), Zdeněk Kutlák (Ambri-Piotta, Switzerland), Jakub Nakládal (Ufa, KHL), Tomáš Mojžíš (Turku, Finland), Jakub Krejčík (HC Slavia Praha), Jan Kolář II (HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice).

Forwards:

Tomáš Rolinek (Magnitogorsk, KHL), Petr Průcha (St. Petersburg, KHL), Zbyněk Irgl (Minsk, KHL), Jakub Klepiš (Dynamo Moscow, KHL), Lukáš Kašpar, Kamil Kreps, Jiří Novotný (all Astana, KHL), Petr Hubáček (Jyväskylä, Finland), Tomáš Netík (Växjö, Sweden), Petr Nedvěd (Bílí Tygři Liberec), Michal Vondrka (HC Slavia Praha), Petr Koukal, Jan Kolář I (both HC ČSOB Pojišťovna Pardubice), Jan Kovář (HC Plzeň 1929).

Head Coach: Alois Hadamczik

Assistant Coach: Josef Paleček

General Manager: Slavomír Lener

Team Manager: Jan Černý
Video Coach: Jan Procházka
Team Doctor: Dr. Zdeněk Ziegelbauer
Physiotherapist: Michal Truc
Treasurer and Trainer: Zdeněk Šmíd
Trainer: Petr Ondráček
Media Consultant: Zdeněk Zikmund

Schedule for the 2012 Oddset Hockey Games:

Thursday, February 9:

17:30 Finland - Russia (Helsinki)
19:00 Sweden - Czech Republic (Stockholm, ČT4 Sport)

Saturday, February 11:

12:00 Czech Republic - Finland (Stockholm, ČT4 Sport)
16:30 Sweden - Russia (Stockholm, ČT4 Sport, tape-delayed to 20:40)

Sunday, February 12:

12:00 Czech Republic - Russia (Stockholm, ČT4 Sport)
15:30 Sweden - Finland (Stockholm, ČT4 Sport, tape-delayed to 19:20)

2011-12 Euro Hockey Tour Standings, after two of four events:

 # | Team            |  W | OW | OL |  L | GF:GA | Pts |
 1 | Russia          |  3 |  1 |  1 |  1 | 16:11 |  12 |
 2 | Sweden          |  3 |  0 |  0 |  3 | 16:19 |   9 |
 3 | Czech Republic  |  2 |  1 |  0 |  3 | 16:14 |   8 |
 4 | Finland         |  2 |  0 |  1 |  3 | 13:17 |   7 |

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)

Late collapse costs Czechs at Karjala

The Czech Republic came oh-so-close to winning the Karjala Cup, the first leg of the 2011-12 Euro Hockey Tour. A win over Russia in their final game would have put them into the tournament lead in points, and they were ahead 1-0 with six minutes to play. However, a power-play goal by Alexander Radulov tied the game with 5:56 remaining and then Yevgeni Kuznetsov scored the winner with only 10 seconds on the clock.

"It's a shame. I'm very sorry, because we played so well," said defenceman Jakub Nakládal, who was in the penalty box for the tying goal. That situation came about by a bad deflection off the glass, but I should have reacted better. I tried to hold the zone, but unfortunately I had was left with no choice but to hold him."

Jakub Kovář did all he could in the Czech goal. Photo:
eurohockey.net.

After they tied the game, the Russians got another chance with the man advantage and put on tremendous pressure. Jakub Kovář managed to hold the fort for the full two minutes, but the pressure continued, leading to Kuznetsov's winner.

"As time went on they put on more and more pressure," said the besieged goalie. "On the winning goal there was a big scramble in front of my net and I had a bit of miscommunication with the defenceman. It's too bad because we thought we'd at least take it to overtime."

Later in the day, Sweden beat the host Finns 4-3, meaning that the 3 points they squandered against Russia would have given the Czechs first place in the tournament. As it is, Russia finished first with 8 points, followed by Finland with 4, and the Czechs and Swedes both with 3. The next leg of the tournament will be in Russia in December.

Besides the disappointment of losing, the late collapse was also unfortunate for team captain Petr Nedvěd, who was representing his country of birth for the first time in 15 years. Nedvěd got his team off to a good start on Thursday in Sweden, scoring twice to pace his team to a 5-2 victory and then, in Sunday's game in Helsinki, had the lone goal against Russia before the late collapse.

"It's a terrible shame," said Nedvěd afterward. "We played hard for 60 minutes. You absolutely couldn't ask for more from the boys." But he went on to say, "I am certainly glad that I was able to play for the national team after such a long time. We had a great bunch of guys, just dominated by positive emotions. Of course, I knew that hockey at this level is faster. But I think we came out and played two games at one hundred percent. It just did not go very well on Saturday against Finland."

The players now return to their respective clubs, as European domestic leagues resume play in the next few days.

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)

4 Czech teams still in contention for European Trophy

All teams were in action on Saturday in the European Trophy, as positioning starts to become clearer. Most teams have now played six of their eight games, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Red Bull Salute in December.

Prague's two teams did little to help their causes, each losing on home ice to cement their positions at the bottom of the North Division. At Tesla Arena, Sparta was scored on four times in the second period and fell 4-2 to visiting Jokerit Helsinki. The Finnish club was particularly dominant during a 10-minute stretch in the second where Sparta failed to register a shot on goal, and had numerous chances of their own to build up a commanding lead. Sparta came back strong in the third and scored twice, but it was too little, too late. Meanwhile, across town in Eden, Slavia and Helsinki IFK went to a shootout tied 2-2, where Mikael Granlund provided the heroics for the visitors. No stranger to providing highlight-reel goals, Granlund beat goaltender Dominik Furch with a move similar to the one used by Peter Forsberg in the 1994 Olympics to secure the victory.

Four other Czech teams in action on Saturday, however, are still in contention for positions in the Red Bull Salute, the eight-team event in Austria that will determine the winner of the European Trophy.

In České Budějovice, Jakub Kovář made 18 saves as Mountfield shut out the Vienna Capitals 4-0. The win allowed them to leap-frog over Plzeň 1929 into second place in the East Division. Plzeň picked up only a single point as they fell to visiting Slovan Bratislava 5-4 in a shootout. The home team trailed 4-1 midway through the game before scoring three in a row to force overtime. They were led in a losing cause by two goals from Radek Duda and two assists each from Martin Straka and Petr Sýkora. As Mountfield and Plzeň each have two games in hand on division-leading Slovan, they could both conceivably qualify for the Red Bull Salute.

HC Pardubice sits in top spot in the South Division with 12 points, two ahead of HV71 and three ahead of Adler Mannheim. This comes after beating rival Kometa Brno 5-4. Martin Bartek scored the game-winner with 2:07 remaining in regulation time. Pardubice and HV71 each have two games remaining, while Mannheim has three. The loss relegates Kometa to last in the division with five points.

Bílí Tygři Liberec sits in fourth place in the South with seven points, but remain in contention because they have two games in hand on most other teams. They helped their cause on Saturday night by taking two points in Linkoping, with veteran Petr Nedvěd scoring the shootout winner.

Liberec is back in action on Sunday in Oulu against Kärpät, while Plzeň, Brno and Pardubice all host Finnish clubs. The Kometa Brno-Jokerit Helsinki game can be seen at 18:00 CET on ČT4 or online at ct24.cz/sport. All games can be followed live online at europeantrophy.com/schedule.php.

National team gets reinforcements from Slavia, goes to Belarus this weekend

After winning both games last weekend in Gjøvik, Norway by 2-1 scores, Václav Jáchim of hokej.cz is reporting that the Czech national team has made a few additions for this weekend's games in Belarus.

Jakub Štěpánek has been added to the roster of the Czech
national team. Photo: tn.nova.cz.

The biggest addition is goaltender Jakub Štěpánek of SKA St. Petersburg. Štěpánek has been a mainstay on the national team all season and is a strong bet to make the World Championship roster, though not likely as the starter. Jakub Kovář of Mountfield České Budějovice played well in both games in Norway, by all accounts. Tomáš Pöpperle of Sparta Praha, who backed up Kovář both games in Norway, won't be making the trip this time, and his ride with the national team is likely finished.

There have been four new additions to the team from Slavia Praha, who were eliminated from the Extraliga playoffs last Friday. Defenceman Vladimír Roth will be going to Belarus, as will forwards Tomáš Pospíšil, Tomáš Svoboda, and Michal Vondrka.

Karel Rachůnek of Lokomotiv Yaroslavl won't be with the team this weekend, but he will join the team in Prague on Tuesday. Teammate Josef Vašiček's status is still up in the air due to a back injury. 

With Sunday being the final day of the NHL season, there will soon be more recruits coming. Presently, it is unknown if any NHLers will join the team quickly enough to play in the pair of games in Litvínov against Switzerland April 15 and 16. Probably the most anticipated addition would be goaltender Tomáš Vokoun of the Florida Panthers, who backstopped the team to last year's championship. With Florida out of the playoffs, he has indicated interested in competing again this year. Marek Židlický, Patrik Eliáš, Martin Havlát and Milan Michálek are among other expected additions.

Martin Růžička, who is currently playing for Oceláři Třinec in the Czech Extraliga finals, was a member of last year's team. Having established a new playoff scoring record this year, he will surely rejoin the national team once the series is over.

It has also been reported that Jaromír Jágr will play in the Czech Hockey Games April 21 to 24 in Brno, but it's not known if he will play at all with the national team before that.

Following the games in Litvínov and Brno, the Czechs will host Canada in their final pre-tournament game April 27 in Prague. They will then travel to Bratislava to begin defence of their championship April 30.