Prague – The hockey players of Olomouc won the fourth game of the preliminary round of the playoffs at home over Karlovy Vary 3:0 and after winning 3:1, they advanced to the quarterfinals of the extra league. There they will meet the winner of the regular season Pardubice. With two goals and one assist, striker Jakub Orsava was the architect of today's victory for Hanák, who is the most productive player with eight points and the best scorer in the elimination round with five goals. Slovakian goalkeeper Branislav Konrád contributed to the success with a clean sheet.
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Photo gallery: Play off hockey extra league 2023
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Hanáci will appear in the quarterfinals for the fourth time in the last five completed seasons. Karlovarská Energie was eliminated in the preliminary round for the third time in a row and did not end their wait for a move into the top eight since 2009, when they won the historic title.
In the opening ten minutes of the match, the importance of the match was evident from the speech of both teams. The guests had a slight advantage, but in the 11th minute Orsava came through and scored the fourth goal in the fourth playoff match. Gríger could equalize, but he did not overcome Konrád in a separate escape. Rachůnek also found himself in a promising position twice, but even he did not get the puck behind the back of the Olomouc goalkeeper. Immediately after, Orsava could add the second goal, who narrowly missed the left post from the circle.
The opening minutes of the second period were also rather cautious on both sides, and the visiting Kohout did not take advantage of the first chance until six minutes into the game. In the further course, a similar scenario as during the first part was repeated. Shortly after the half of the game, Orsava made his mark again, arriving with the puck after a scrum in Hrabal's goal area. Karlovy Vary could have scored in the power play, but Jiskra missed the goal from a good position.
Home team Káňa presented themselves with a hard shot at the beginning of the third period, but Habal narrowed the angle and hit. Konrád was equally successful against Mikyska's hard shot. Habal then caught Dujsík's shot, but the puck only fell into the upper net of the goal. Olomouc then got a five-minute power play after a foul by Dlapy on Kuska, but paradoxically, visiting Kohout had a good chance in it, who himself only headed into the concrete of the goalkeeper who moved in time before Konrád.
After that, however, Olomouc had a numerical advantage. she just took advantage, Knotek took care of it with a successful stop after Orsava's shot. The home team could have added a fourth goal in the continuing five-on-three power play after Redlich's dismissal, but Habal caught the scorer with several good saves.
Votes of the coaches after the 4th match of the preliminary round of the hockey extra league playoff HC Olomouc – HC Energie Karlovy Vary ( 3:0):
Jan Tomajko (Olomouce): “The 3-0 result doesn't reflect the course of today's match, it was a very balanced match. After our first goal, Vary took the initiative and we also fell out of it in the second period. In the third period, we already tried to protect the victory . The team's fighting performance led us to this in the end. Orsava has a great influence on the team, which he already had at the beginning of the season. His return helped us a lot, especially in the power play. He is strong on the puck and does not panic, which is very important for us. We have two balanced goalkeepers, which is a huge advantage in the playoffs. Konrád kept us up today and kept the team calm with his saves. The players then believe in themselves and their confidence translates into a better puck game. We can't say that we played flawlessly today, but the dedication she was exemplary in today's match, that's how it should be in the playoffs. You can't choose the next opponent. Both teams dominated the regular season of the extra league and they are both tough opponents.”
David Bruk (Karlovy Vary): “We are very sorry that we are ending and the season is over. Unfortunately, we were unable to score a goal in today's game. The home team took care of the series and moved on. The key game of the series was the third game in Vary, when we led by 2 :0 after two periods, but Olomouc managed to turn the game around and win in overtime. It wasn't so much about emotions, but about the momentum of the match and the quality. I see two key moments in the series, which are the aforementioned lost third game in Vary and the excellent form of Orsava. At the moment, I'm tired and disappointed after the losing streak, but it's possible that when I rest, I'll evaluate the whole season in a generally positive way.”
Preliminary round of the Hockey Extraliga playoffs – 4th match:
HC Olomouc – HC Energie Karlovy Vary 3:0 (1:0, 1:0, 1:0)
Goals and assists: 11. Orsava (J. Káňa, Rašner ), 32. Orsava (P. Musil, Rašner), 53. J. Knotek (Orsava, J. Káňa). Referee: Šír, Ondráček – J. Svoboda, Hynek. Exclusion: 4:5, plus Ondrušek, Bambula – Stříteský, Pulpán all 5 min., Dalpa 5 min. and until the end of the match. Usage: 1:0. Viewers: 5273. Final score of the series: 3:1.
Lineups:
Olomouc: Konrád – Ondrušek, T. Černý, Dujsík, Rašner, Švrček, Škůrek, Mareš – Orsava, P. Musil, J. Káňa – Bambula, J. Knotek, Kusko – Navrátil, Klimek, Plášek – A. Rutar, Menšík, Kucsera. Coach: J. Tomajko.
Karlovy Vary: Habal – Huttula, Havlín, Stříteský, Pulpán, D. Mikyska, Dlapa, Bartejs – O. Beránek, Černoch, Koblasa – Hladonik, Gríger, T. Rachůnek – Kohout, Jiskra, Redlich – Kofroň, Koffer, Kružík. Coach: Bruk.
