HC Kometa Brno – White Tigers Liberec 3:2
Although Liberec played a difficult preliminary round series with Plzeň, they played perfectly well once morest Kometa. Although he lost the opening match, he took a promising 1:1 home from Brno, when he got the revenge following separate raids. He was caught by goalkeeper Michael Schnattinger, for whom the series was the most spicy – it was in Komet that he previously worked.
“The raids did not work out for us, but we believe that we will at least play a match in Liberec and return home as winners or for one more match,” said Brno coach Karel Beran for hc-kometa.cz following the match. His first possible plan soon failed, as the Tigers won 6:4 in the biggest shootout and came closer to advancing.
“We didn’t manage to get into the game, but following the break, our real team started and we got back into the game. However, we might have bounced back by more than one goal,” assessed coach Valdemar Jiruš. However, his team did not use the match point and lost the fourth duel 2:4. “We lost the game ourselves. We had our chances, unfortunately that bit of luck was once morest us. It’s a great series for boys too, and that’s how it should be,” at least Jiruš enjoyed himself.
The decision on who will advance was made on Tuesday in Brno. The match was largely decided by two converted numerical advantages of the home team in the first period, the visitors only managed to correct. In the end, Kometa secured a 4:1 win and thus advanced to the semi-finals following six years. “The guys have earned it for the ten months they’ve dedicated themselves to it. I hope we stay this humble. Then I believe we might get something. I would like to thank the opponent for a beautiful series that was fair play. Those are the games the guys need to play.” Aries reveled.
1st match: Kometa Brno – Liberec 3:1 (0:1, 1:0, 2:0)
Goals and assists: 24. Otava (Boltvan, K. Horváth), 46. D. Svoboda (K. Horváth, Boltvan), 58. Boltvan – 20. Jenčovský (Sedivý).
2nd match: Kometa Brno – Liberec 3:4 following sam. raids (0:2, 1:1, 2:0 – 0:0)
Goals and assists: 31. D. Svoboda (Otava, K. Horváth), 56. Denis Bárta (Chludil, A. Pospíšil), 60. Otava (D. Svoboda) – 7. Gajda (Rozsíval), 15. Prokůpek (Vološín ), 22. Sedivý (Jenčovský, Gajda), decision rent Hey.
3rd match: Liberec – Kometa Brno 6:4 (0:2, 3:0, 3:2)
Goals and assists: 24. Křížek (Galvas, Janata), 25. Hois (J. Ehrenberger), 36. Křížek (Rozsíval, Šedivý), 45. Handl (Hois), 50. J. Pérez (Jenčovský, Janata), 60 Jenčovský (Sedivý) – 6. A. Pospíšil (Denis Bárta), 11. Veselský (D. Moravec), 52. Rakus (D. Svoboda, Ekrt), 59. Ulbricht (Veselský, A. Pospíšil).
4th match: Liberec – Kometa Brno 2:4 (0:1, 2:2, 0:1)
Goals and assists: 25. Janata (J. Pérez, Meisel), 31. Handl (Macháček) – 2. Veselský (Chludil, Ulbricht), 25. D. Moravec (Ekrt), 38. Otava, 60. D. Moravec ( Ottawa, D. Svoboda).
5th match: Kometa Brno – Liberec 4:1 (2:0, 0:1, 2:0)
Goals and assists: 14. Ekrt (Rakus, D. Moravec), 17. D. Svoboda (Boltvan, K. Horváth), 50. Habermann (Chludil, Veselský), 51. Rakus (D. Svoboda) – 34. Gajda ( Trade).
HC Energie Karlovy Vary – BK Mladá Boleslav 3:0
Two series, on the other hand, recognized the winner already in the fastest possible time. However, it was definitely not expected from the one between Karlovy Vary and Mlada Boleslaví. It was a duel between the fourth and fifth teams of the superstructure, Bruslari also have a very high-quality team and Energie, on the other hand, the youngest team in the competition. However, her players coped brilliantly.
They laid the foundation of success in their stadium. They won both first battles with the same result of 4:1! “We are at the beginning once more, we have to go step by step, and the series can be quite long,” Boleslav coach Marek Melenovský believed following the first game, but his team’s revenge was even less successful. “I think we set ourselves up well mentally and game-wise and in the second period we dictated the tempo of the game a lot and out-jumped our opponents. We still have respect for it, it’s not over yet.” warned Pavel Arnošt on the Energie website.
However, the skaters might not score more than one goal even on the third attempt. They were picked up by Adam Ebenstreit, whose teammates confirmed their progress with a 3:1 win. “Karlovy Vary has a young team, but the players are good and skilled. We didn’t have the same drive and focus as they did. 3-11 in three games is just bad.” Melenovsky knew. “I think we deservedly progressed to the semi-finals. Big congratulations to us in the cabin. The boys are the youngest team in the extra league and are gaining experience.” responded Arnošt.
1st match: Karlovy Vary – Mladá Boleslav 4:1 (1:0, 1:0, 2:1)
Goals and assists: 2. Čihař (Steklý), 23. Varvařovský (Šlechta, Bulka), 43. Adámek, 59. Záhejský – 46. Hruška (Hradec, T. Moravec).
2nd match: Karlovy Vary – Mladá Boleslav 4:1 (1:0, 3:0, 0:1)
Goals and assists: 8. Šmajda (Varvařovský, Dorot), 24. Zeman (M. Novotný, Pastor), 35. Čihař (Steklý), 38. Galnor (M. Váňa) – 51. J. Průšek (Zvagulis).
3rd match: Mladá Boleslav – Karlovy Vary 1:3 (0:0, 1:1, 0:2)
Goals and assists: 29. A. Čech (Hurt, A. Vlasák) – 22. Galnor (Bulka, V. Váňa), 46. Galnor (Steklý), 55. Zolnaj (Varvařovský, Vogel).
HC Steelers Třinec – HC Dynamo Pardubice 3:1
The winner of the long-term part of the competition from Třinec entered the play-offs with resounding reinforcements Oskar Haas and Michal Ramik. The lowest seeded Pardubice did a very good job once morest him, but it was still not enough for the probably biggest favorite of the extra league. The Steelers showed in the series that they have a fantastic offensive line.
This was especially true on home ice, where they scored a total of 17 goals in the first two games! They lost the first period 0:3, but then started a big offensive carousel. After winning 8:6 and 9:3, they earned match points.
They haven’t converted the first one in Pardubice yet. With the score 4:4, overtime was extended and Dynamo’s defender Vojtěch Tvrdík provided the reduction in the series. His team was leading on the second day as well, entering the third period with a score of 2:2, but the finish did not work out. Slezáné clearly won the fourth duel with four goals, won 6:2 and confirmed the role of the favored team.
1st match: Třinec – Pardubice 8:6 (0:3, 6:2, 2:1)
Goals and assists: 24. Sikora (Kozlík, Šilar), 25. Sikora (Šilar, Kozlík), 26. Spěváček (Haas, Cedzo), 34. R. Mrtka, 40. Haas (Spěváček, Volas), 40. Sikora ( Haas, Holinka), 41. Šilar (R. Mrtka, Kozlík), 59. Kozlík (Šilar) – 4. Chabada (Švec, Herčík), 10. Jaša (Koudelka, Gromadzki), 15. Štěpánek (Kalužík, D. Burda ), 32. Herčík (Pavlata, D. Burda), 32. A. Fiala (Chabada, Gromadzki), 41. A. Fiala (Kalužík, Tvrdík).
2nd match: Třinec – Pardubice 9:3 (3:0, 3:3, 3:0)
Goals and assists: 12. Holinka (Volas, Gerych), 15. Gerych (Sikora, Holinka), 19. Sikora (Kozlík, Ošmera), 24. Haas (Sikora, R. Mrtka), 25. Šutý (Volas, Cedzo) , 30. Cedzo (Kozlík, Šilar), 45. Kozlík (Buják, Šilar), 49. Haas (Cedzo, Šutý), 52. Sikora (Šilar, Kozlík) – 23. Pavlata (A. Fiala, Koudelka), 37. A. Fiala (Gromadzki), 38. Shoemaker (Chabada, Helikar).
3rd match: Pardubice – Třinec 5:4 following extra time (0:1, 4:2, 0:1 – 1:0)
Goals and assists: 24. Herčík (Pavlata, A. Fiala), 30. Kalužík (Švec), 36. Gromadzki (A. Fiala, Kalužík), 40. Jaša (Švec), 63. Tvrdík (Chabada, Gromadzki) – 13 Singer (Haas, Holinka), 28. Šutý (Cedzo, Kozlík), 33. Singer (Haas, Holinka), 49. Volas (Bartoš, Ramik).
4th match: Pardubice – Třinec 2:6 (2:1, 0:1, 0:4)
Goals and assists: 2. Pavlata (Herčík, Štěpánek), 20. Kalužík (Štěpánek, Švec) – 2. Holinka (Gerych, Cedzo), 28. Ramik (Cedzo, Haas), 46. Holinka (Gerych, Buják), 54 Šutý (Holinka, Haas), 57. Haas (Ramik), 59. Ramik (Haas, Šutý).
HC Sparta Prague – HC Dukla Jihlava 3:0
The second series, which only needed three games to decide, was the one between Sparta and Jihlava. The defending champions from the capital celebrated the progress, but it can be said that the result was very cruel for the opponents. After all, he only lost the second and third battles in overtime, and in both of these cases he was leading.
The Spartans managed only the opening match without much difficulty. At 2:2, they scored three difference goals in the third period. “It was a very challenging match for us, especially following the longer break, Jihlava had at least the preliminary round. The first matches are tricky. The start was not completely bad from our side, but nervous, fierce, but then we scored goals.” coach Tomáš Netík evaluated for hcsparta.cz.
But Dukla then rose. “I think we performed much better than in the first quarter-final. There was a lot of energy, we had a few chances. There was one small mistake in extra time and the opponent had such quality players that he was able to take advantage of it.” Jihlava coach Petr Svoboda was sad following the 3:4 defeat in extra time, which was decided by Marek Daníček.
The same player also sent the Spartans to the semi-finals. The third match on the ice in Jihlava ended with exactly the same result and Daníček ended it once more. “It was the little things that mattered and the players on Sparta’s side made a lot of difference. The boys were selfless and our game is built on teamwork. They showed here that even without the difference players, without whom we played, the boys gave above-standard performances,” praised Svoboda for hcdukla.cz. “Congratulations to all the players for doing what we said in the cabin,” he was joined by Sparta’s leader, the legendary Jan Havel.
The Prague selection can now look forward to a series once morest Brno Komet, while Třinec will challenge Karlovy Vary. The semi-finals start on Friday, March 29, and will be played once more in a best-of-three match.
1st match: Sparta Prague – Jihlava 5:2 (2:1, 0:1, 3:0)
Goals and assists: 5. Bareš (Daníček, Senčák), 18. Hauser (Samson), 42. Bareš (Daníček, Senčák), 56. Fábry (Novák, Hauser), 59. Hauser (Samson) – 7. Katolický (Báťa) , Cíhal), 27. Vandas (Peš, Chlubna).
2nd match: Sparta Prague – Jihlava 4:3 following extra time (1:2, 2:1, 0:0 – 1:0)
Goals and assists: 7. Odehnal (Holeček, Samson), 27. Samson (Hauser), 37. Daníček (Hauser), 62. Daníček (Hauser, J. Červenka) – 12. Číhal (R. Váňa), 18. Vandas (On foot), 30. On foot (R. Váňa).
3rd match: Jihlava – Sparta Prague 3:4 following extra time (1:0, 1:1, 1:2 – 0:1)
Goals and assists: 19. Jáchym Jungwirth (Kudrna, O. Chvátal), 40. Chlubna (Peš), 60. Modl (Vovsík, Číhal) – 23. Hauser (Daníček, Hrabík), 44. Hrabík (TS), 59. Samson (Hauser, Daníček), 68. Daníček (Hrabík, Samson).
Schedule of semi-final play off matches
Friday 29 March – 1st matches:
HC Oceláři Třinec – HC Energie Karlovy Vary
HC Kometa Brno – HC Sparta Prague
Saturday 30 March – 2nd matches:
HC Oceláři Třinec – HC Energie Karlovy Vary
HC Kometa Brno – HC Sparta Prague
Tuesday, April 2 – 3rd matches:
HC Energie Karlovy Vary – HC Ocelarí Třinec
HC Sparta Prague – HC Kometa Brno
Wednesday, April 3 – possible 4th matches:
HC Energie Karlovy Vary – HC Ocelarí Třinec
HC Sparta Prague – HC Kometa Brno
Saturday, April 6 – possible 5th matches:
HC Oceláři Třinec – HC Energie Karlovy Vary
HC Kometa Brno – HC Sparta Prague
Photo: Markéta Křížová, hc-kometa.cz; Jan Pavlíček, bkboleslav.cz
