Plenty of Nothing: Hockey

30 September 2022

Pardubice

Dominik Hašek tended goal for Pardubice from 1980 to 1989, and again in 2009-10.

Sparta Prague visit Pardubice.

Pardubice were Czechoslovak champions in 1973, 1987 and 1989, and Czech champions in 2005, 2010 and 2012. They finished fifth in the standings last year and went out in the quarter-finals.

The city of Pardubice is famous for its electronics, explosives and gingerbread.

The earliest game that I can find between these two teams was:

1956/11/24 Pardubice 2 - 4 Sparta Prague

(Source.)

[Pardubice 2 - 3 Sparta Prague.]

Posted at 01:45 AM in Czech Things, Hockey | Permalink | Comments (0)

25 September 2022

Anyang Halla

Nikko Icebucks versus Anyang Halla in pre-Covid times. Source.

Asia League Ice Hockey is back after two Covid-cancelled seasons. There are six teams: the five teams that participated in last year's Japan Cup plus Anyang Halla from South Korea. The Russian club PSK Sakhalin has been kicked out of the league.

Anyang Halla was founded as Mando Winia in 1994. They played in the Korean Ice Hockey League until that league and the Japanese league both folded in 2004. Halla then became founding members of Asia League Ice Hockey and have played there every year since, except for the two Covid years. Altogether Halla have been champions of the Korean League and Asia League Ice Hockey five times each. They wear blue, white and gold and play at Anyang Ice Arena (capacity 1,284) in Anyang, a satellite city of Seoul.

The club is sponsored by Halla Group, a Korean conglomerate, which also has an interest in Kiekko-Vantaa of the Finnish Mestis.

What did Anyang Halla do while the Asia League was shut down? There were several Korean tournaments to play in. Last season Anyang won the 76th National Ice Hockey Championship, beating Korea University, High1, Kwangyoon University and Yonsei University. They also won the 66th National Division and the 41st Yuhan Cheolbae. And they played two exhibition games against ECHL teams in October 2021:

2021/10/15 Greenville Swamp Rabbits 6 - 1 Anyang Halla

2021/10/16 Atlanta Gladiators 3 - 2 Anyang Halla

Source.

Three months after these games Atlanta signed Anyang veteran Sanghoon Shin. Source.

At one point Asia League Ice Hockey had three Korean teams. High1 left the league in 2019 but are still in existence. Daemyung Killer Whales however closed shop in 2021.

Today Anyang host Nikko IceBucks. [Anyang win 7 - 2.]

Anyang Halla's website is here. The governing body of South Korean hockey is the Korea Ice Hockey Association.

Posted at 01:38 AM in Hockey, Korean Things | Permalink | Comments (0)

23 September 2022

Olomouc

Olomoucký orloj.

HC Olomouc was started in 1955, making the club a year older than the Rochester Americans. Their rink Zimni Stadion holds 5,500 spectators. They wear red and white and have a rooster as their emblem. They were champions of the Extraliga only once, in 1994. You can read the club's history here with the help of Google Translate.

Olomouc is the ancient capital of Moravia. There's a 15th-century astronomical clock built into the town hall which was refurbished the same year as HC Olomouc was founded and has proletarian figures that come out and take a turn whenever the hour strikes. Video.

There were several historical Olomouc hockey clubs: SK Olomouc (1912 - 1951); Olmützer EV; ČSS Olomouc.

Last season Olomouc and Sparta met four times and took two wins each. Olomouc finished ninth and went out in the first round of the playoffs.

David Krejčí who played many years for the Boston Bruins was with Olomouc last season.

[Olomouc 4 - 0 Sparta Prague.]

Posted at 01:48 AM in Czech Things, Hockey | Permalink | Comments (0)

13 September 2022

Hockey Ins and Outs for 2022-23

Jokerit and Riga in their last KHL meeting, November 7, 2021. Jokerit won 4 - 1. Source.

Russia: Jokerit and Dinamo Riga left the KHL in February 2022 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reducing the KHL to 22 teams.

Sweden: Djurgården are relegated to the Hockeyallsvenkan. This feels epochal but it also happened in 2012 and 1976. HV71 are promoted back to the SHL. Troja-Ljungby are relegated to Hockeyettan. Östersunds IK are promoted from Hockeyettan.

Finland: No change in the Liiga. Jokerit will take this year off and rejoin the Liiga in 2023-24. No change in the Mestis either.

Germany: Krefeld Pinguine are relegated from the DEL. Lowen Frankfurt are promoted from DEL2 to the DEL. Tölzer Löwen are relegated from DEL2 to the Oberliga Süd. Eisbären Regensburg are promoted from the Oberliga Süd to DEL2.

Switzerland: Kloten are promoted from the Swiss League, bringing the NL to 14 teams.

Czech Republic: Zlín are relegated from the Extraliga, reducing the league to 14 teams.

Slovakia: No change.

Austria: Bratislava Capitals, Dornbirner EC and Orli Znojmo are out, and Asiago and Pioneers Vorarlberg are in, reducing the ICE Hockey League to 11 teams.

Hungary: Gyori ETO HC drop out, leaving the Erste Liga with 10 teams.

Norway: No change.

Britain: No change.

France: No change.

Posted at 01:22 AM in Hockey | Permalink | Comments (0)

11 September 2022

Martin Chabada

Martin Chabada has played for both Luleå and Sparta Prague. Source.

Sparta Prague visit Luleå HF in Champions Hockey League group stage action. Luleå are here by virtue of having finished second on the SHL last season. Sparta were third in the Czech league.

Luleå is the northernmost city with a team in the SHL, situated at 65° 35′ 4″ N, about one degree south of the Arctic Circle. But it's not the northernmost Swedish town with a hockey team. Boden and Kalix of Hockeyettan are further north, and Kiruna AIF and Kiruna IF are way further north.

Luleå is a steel town, connected by rail to the massive iron ore deposit at Kiruna. In addition Facebook maintains a huge server farm in Luleå.

I covered Luleå's Championship Hockey League history up to November 2019 here. Since that time they have put up these results:

2019-20 (continued)

16 2019/11/12 SC Bern 0 - 3 Luleå

16 2019/11/19 Luleå 4 - 2 SC Bern

QF 2019/12/3 Lausanne HC 1 - 2 Luleå

QF 2019/12/10 Luleå 5 - 2 Lausanne HC

SF 2020/1/7 Frölunda 2 - 3 Luleå

SF 2020/1/14 Luleå 1 - 3 Frölunda

2020-21

Luleå were to have played in the cancelled 2020-21 Champions Hockey league.

Luleå versus Sparta Prague previously:

2011/8/13 Luleå 1 - 2 Sparta Prague European Trophy, North Div

2011/8/14 Luleå 2 - 1 Sparta Prague European Trophy, North Div

(Source: Hockey Archives and its annual lists of "matches et tournois amicaux internationaux entre clubs".)

2022/9/4 Sparta Prague 2 - 3 Luleå CHL group stage

2022/9/11 Luleå [5 - 2] Sparta Prague CHL group stage

Posted at 02:10 AM in Hockey | Permalink | Comments (0)

09 September 2022

Aalborg Pirates

Skipper Clement. Source.

It's the 2022-23 Champions Hockey League group stage. Sparta Prague find themselves in Group A along with Aalborg Pirates, Luleå HF and Mikkelin Jukurit. In the draw Luleå came out of Pot 1, Jukurit Pot 2, Sparta Pot 3 and Aalborg Pot 4. Two gamedays have already transpired, and presently Luleå are in first place, Jukurit second, Aalborg third and Sparta fourth.

Today Sparta visit Aalborg Pirates, the 2021-22 Danish champions.

Aaborg Pirates go back to 1967 and have been champions of Denmark three times. They play at the 5,000 seat Sparekassen Danmark Isarena. They wear red.

In addition to winning the Danish league's 2021-22 regular season and playoffs, the Pirates finished third in the 2021-22 Continental Cup.

Last season Aalborg have a guy named Pierre-Olivier Morin from Trois-Rivières who has also played for Lewiston and Shawinigan of the QMJHL, UQTR in the OUA, and Cool FM 103.5 de St-Georges of the LNAH. He has returned to the LNAH and has signed with Sorel-Tracy.

Aalborg is an industrial town in the north of Jutland. Its most famous son is Skipper Clement, a 16th-century privateer and the leader of a peasant revolt, whose statue stands in the town now.

Sparta versus Aalborg:

2022/9/2 Sparta Prague 2 - 3 Aalborg

2022/9/9 Aalborg [2 - 6] Sparta Prague

Posted at 02:07 AM in Danish Things, Hockey, Statues | Permalink | Comments (0)

31 August 2022

2022 Women's Worlds

Akane Shiga plays for Obihiro in the Smile League. She scored Japan's only goal against Switzerland in their game August 26th, and two out of three against Finland on August 29th. Source.

The 2022 Women's World Championship is going on in Denmark. Normally there would be no Women's Worlds in a Winter Olympics year, but the IIHF changed the rule.

Group A consists of Canada, USA, Switzerland, Finland and Japan. Group B are the Czech Republic, Sweden, Hungary, Denmark and Germany. Sweden are here in place of Russia who were kicked out.

It’s highly significant that nobody on the Canadian and US squads plays in the Premier Hockey Federation, the only women’s pro hockey league in North America. Seven players at the Worlds do play in the PHF, but they’re all from Europe.

Let's follow Japan who so far are having a hard time against the US and Canada. And the Finns.

Preliminary Round:

2022/8/25 Japan 0 - 10 USA

2022/8/26 Switzerland 3 - 1 Japan

2022/8/28 Japan 0 - 9 Canada

2022/8/29 Finland 9 - 3 Japan

QF:

2022/9/1 [Switzerland 2 - 1] Japan

5th to 8th place SF:

2022/9/3 [Sweden 4 - 5 Japan]

[Japan finish in fifth place.]

Posted at 01:55 AM in Hockey | Permalink | Comments (0)

21 August 2022

Danube Cup

Sparta versus Slovan back in the day. Source.

This hockey season I want to follow Sparta Prague of the Czech Extraliga. The Czech Republic is a world hockey powerhouse but I and probably most Canadians know next to nothing about it. Sparta Prague stand out as the team to follow this year because they will be appearing in the Czech Extraliga, the Champions Hockey League and the Spengler Cup.

But first off there's the Danube Cup, a tune-up tournament of exhibition games. Sparta Prague face Slovan Bratislava, Lukko Rauma and Davos.

Slovan Bratislava and Sparta were frequent opponents in the days of the Czechoslovak Extraliga, but they haven't seen much of each other since 1993. (See below.) Slovan left the Slovak Extraliga for the KHL from 2012 till 2019, but then came back and are now the 2022 Slovak champion.

Lukko Rauma finished tenth in the Finnish Liiga in 2021-22.

Sparta and Davos will meet again in the 2022 Spengler Cup in December.

The results:

8/18 Sparta Prague 3 - 2 Slovan Bratislava

8/19 Sparta Prague 3 - 2 Lukko Rauma

8/21 Davos [6 - 1] Sparta Prague

All three games are in Bratislava on the Danube, hence the cup name.

This month Sparta have also played these exhibition games:

8/9 Sparta Prague 3 - 2 Slavia Prague

HC Slavia Prague are Sparta's oldest rival, but since 2015 Slavia have been playing in the Chance Liga, the second-tier league.

8/11 Kladno 2 - 4 Sparta Prague

Kladno are Jaromir Jagr's team.