Illustrative photo – Match of the playoff preliminary round of the hockey extra league – 2nd match: HC Oceláři Třinec – HC Verva Litvínov, March 9, 2023, Třinec. From the left, Marian Adámek from Třinec, Milan Doudera from Třinec, Daniel Voženílek from Třinec and Andrej Nestrašil from Třinec.
Prague – Hockey players Třince and Brno have their first chance to secure the fastest possible advance to the quarterfinals of the extra league playoff on Saturday. The Steelers won both home matches against Litvínov in the preliminary round, Kometa beat Mlada Boleslav twice, and both teams are now only one win away from participating in the next part of the competition. The remaining two series will certainly be played on Sunday as well. The match between Pilsen and Liberec is tied 1:1 for the matches, Karlovy Vary and Olomouc are waiting for only the second match on Saturday.
Advertisement'; }
Photo gallery: Play off hockey extra league 2023
< p>
< p>
Litvínov won six times in a row at the end of the regular season, but he still hasn't found the recipe for the championship Třinec. However, both duels in the Werk Arena were balanced, in the first Ocelář adjusted to the final 3:1 on a power play by Verva, the second was decided by Jakub Jeřábek's goal in overtime.
“We are ready to fight until the end and we will not back down,” said Lithuanian forward Nicolas Hlava after Thursday's game. If the North Bohemians want to advance, they must change the unflattering balance in the playoffs, in which they have already lost nine times in a row. They last beat Hradec Králové in the elimination round on March 13, 2017. Their last winning streak was in April 2015 when they won the title.
On the other hand, Třinec, as the champion from the previous three completely played extra league seasons, has successfully managed nine series in a row. In addition, Slezana have won five of the last six games at the Ivan Hlinka Stadium in Litvín, only in the last one they lost 3:4 in extra time.
Striker Andrej Nestrašil, however, is aware that the decision is not over. “In Litvínov, we have to play without mistakes, with the puck deep, preferably in their zone. Hopefully we will have a little better weakening than on Thursday and the power play will keep what it turned into today,” said Nestrašil on the club's website, pointing to the three conceded goals Steelers in decline.
Mladá Boleslav will avert the threat of relegation again without goalkeeper Filip Novotný. “His leg is in a cast for three weeks and he has muscle problems,” revealed coach Jiří Kalous, who must therefore continue to rely on Gašper Krošelj. “I believe that the fans will come to support us, we will try to return the series to Brno, but we are taking it realistically,” added Kalous.
However, the Comets have not been doing well on the ice of Bruslařů for a long time, they have lost eleven times in a row. The last time Brno won in Mladá Boleslav was in October 2017. “I've been here for two months and we lost a lot against them,” said coach Patrik Martinec about the 3:7 defeat in January. “I will repeat myself, Boleslav is a big favorite in the series, we are leading 2:0 and we will do everything to advance,” Martinec said.
Pilsen ended a streak of ten defeats on Thursday, winning 6:0 in Liberec and will try to build on this success at home. “We were worried, but we believed that it could be turned around with a breakthrough match. We'll see how it will look in the future. But the boys have verified that with such commitment and heart, matches can be handled with anyone. I believe that will continue,” wished coach Petr Kořínek.
The White Tigers are in the complete opposite situation. The home debacle marked their first loss after ten wins. “Nothing is happening. It's 1:1, no one said it would be easy. The important thing is how we react on Saturday,” said coach Patrik Augusta. “Three of our four games against each other in the season were very balanced, so we knew that nothing easy was waiting for us,” added captain Petr Jelínek. His team won the last three matches in Pilsen.
Karlovy Vary and Olomouc have managed to play only one match so far. Wednesday's first game was interrupted after the first period due to a damaged ice surface and was played on Thursday. Hanáci will travel to the west of Bohemia with a 1:0 lead. “We are now playing twice at home and I hope that this will be an advantage. That a full hall will come and our fans will drive us. We will leave everything on the ice and do everything to win twice,” said Energie forward Ondřej Beránek on the club's website.
