Prague – The hockey extra league continues with two matches on Wednesday after the first representative break of the season. In the festive prelude to the 21st round, Kladno will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Plzeň club and will strive to end the streak of six defeats. The end of the 7th round will offer a duel between Vítkovice and Mlada Boleslaví, in which a gain of at least two points will help Středočech to move to second place.
The Knights will play in special retro jerseys from the 1974/75 season, in which Kladno won their second title on the occasion of the 50th anniversary. Pilsen will also join the celebrations and wear retro jerseys from the same year. Two hours before the start of the match (18:00), spectators will be able to view a number of trophies and historical items from the Kladno hockey hall of fame in front of the stadium.
In the duel itself with West Bohemia, important points will be at stake. And in the past six rounds, Kladno have won just one: the last time thanks to a great finish in the match against Hradec Králové. “The break came in handy for us. We put the losses behind us and hope to win by three points. We know that it’s balanced in the table and every point can decide. If we lose, we can be twelfth, if we win twice, we can be eighth again. It’s better score points now, rather than chasing at the last moment. We have to go up again little by little,” said striker Antonín Melka.
It was encouraging for the Indians when they ended a streak of four losses before the break and thanks to the win over Liberec (1:0) they got off the bottom of the table, where they sent the White Tigers. However, they only have one point to their credit. “We will train during the break and clear our heads. We need to improve our productivity. We don’t score more than two goals,” reminded assistant coach Václav Pletka even before the break.
Ostrava will play at home for the first time since October 27, when they swept Liberec (7:0). But then three away matches without a point followed and they fell to 9th place. During the national team break, Pavel Trnka, who was one of the assistants of head coach David Bruk, terminated his contract with the club for personal reasons.
The skaters, on the other hand, scored four times in a row and did not lose a single point in the last three games. They are fourth, have the same points as the third Sparta and only one less than the second Litvínov. They lose six points to the leader Pardubice, but Dynamo played an extra game.
“We are certainly happy that we got off to a good start. The position in the table is well-deserved. The players are working excellently, we are decorated with great dedication, we have very good movement and, above all, we are working very well at the back. But we have to work hard honestly. We won many matches by that we managed the results because we had excellent combativeness and dedication, we blocked shots. That must not disappear, otherwise it would be bad,” he told the club’s website coach Richard Král.
And it tames the euphoria. “Only one third has been played, the bread is yet to be broken. Moreover, the table is balanced, even if the two teams are at the bottom, it is far from final. A crisis can come. It happens to practically everyone. So you need to have some point cushion and be mentally prepared for it,” he added.
Statistical data before Wednesday’s matches of the Hockey Tipsport extra league:
Round 7 finish:
HC Vítkovice Ridera (9th) – BK Mladá Boleslav (4th).
Start: 17:30.
Most productive players: Jindřich Abdul 16 games/22 points (8 goals + 14 assists) – Dominik Lakatoš 17/13 (6+7).
Goalkeeper statistics: Lukáš Pařík average 2.89 goals conceded per match, save success rate 91.30 percent and one clean sheet, Lukáš Klimeš 3.33 and 90.67 – Dominik Furch 1.76, 92.93 and one clean sheet , Jan Růžička 3.71 and 87.06.
Points of interest:
– Vítkovice did not score three times in a row and lost six of the last eight games.
– The Ostravas are returning home for the first time after a series of three away games and scored twice in a row in front of their own audience.
– After a series of three defeats, Mladá Boleslav scored three points in a row.
– Skating club won twice in a row away from home.
– Vítkovice scored nine points in a row in mutual duels and won seven times.
– Defender Lukáš Kovář from Vítkovice can play his 500th match in the extra league.
– Attacker Jan Eberle from Vítkovice is one goal short of reaching 100 goals in the extra league.
– Attacker Dominik Lakatoš from Mladá Boleslav, where he is visiting from Vítkovice, is one point short of the goal of 300 in the extra league. He has 134 goals and 165 assists in 500 games.
– Pilsen coach Josef Jandač celebrates his 56th birthday today.
Round 21 preview:
Rytíri Kladno (10th) – HC Škoda Plzeň (13th).
Start: 18:00.
Head-to-head this season: 4:3.
The most productive players: Richard Jarůšek 18/15 (5+10) – Jakub Klepiš 18/8 (2+6).
Goalkeeper statistics: Štěpán Lukeš 2.83 and 91.76, Adam Brízgala 2.99 and 89.83 – Nick Malík 2.45, 91.56 and kept a clean sheet once, Dávid Hrenák 3.96 and 84.68.
Points of interest:
– Kladno has lost six times in a row and won only one point.
– The Knights are waiting to win three games at home, in which they reached one point.
– After a series of four defeats, Pilsen beat Liberec 1:0 at home in the last game before the international break. It was only the second win in the last 12 games.
– Škoda has lost eight times in a row away from home and won only two points.
– Plzeň has won away from home seven times in a row, Kladno won in front of their own audience for the last time on October 11, 2019, when they won 7:5.
– American forward Mitch Hults from Kladno will celebrate his 30th birthday on Wednesday.
Sport hockey extra league OPENER
Source: www.ceskenoviny.cz
