Ice Hockey 2017 - 2018 Discussion Thread

[hckošice 14,843]

Banská Bystrica finally won a match..it was really about time but sometimes I have that strange feeling that SVK is one of the few (if not the only) country which care about this competition

 

even in their match in Salzburg there were apparently only the visitors team fans in the stands

 

[hckošice 14,843]

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

2017/2018

 

  AUSTRALIA

Melbourne Ice

4th League Title

 

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Melbourne Ice reign supreme

Aussie champions cap season with Goodall Cup

 

The Melbourne Ice have won the Goodall Cup for the fourth time in team history, after defeating the Canberra Brave 4-1 in the grand final of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL).

Chris Wong opened the scoring for the Ice in the first period in front of a sell-out crowd at the O’Brien Group Arena.

The Brave equalised through Stephen Blunden in the second period before Sebastian Ottosson restored the Ice’s lead with 30 seconds left in the frame.

Playoff MVP Ottosson then extended his side’s advantage in the third period and the Ice never looked back. Matt Armstrong sealed the championship on a breakaway to cap off a record-breaking season.

Melbourne Ice captain Lliam Webster called the win one of the best he’s been a part of.

“Words don’t do it justice. It’s amazing. We’ve been working hard all season and this is the perfect way to finish it.

“This is such a great group of guys. To win it on Father’s Day and to see everyone with their kids on the ice after the game makes it that much more special.”

Webster also lauded the effort of the Canberra Brave from the nation’s capital.

“They’ve been a force to be reckoned with all year and they’re an incredibly hard team to play against. But we were able to weather the storm and we were able to bury a few,” he said.

“I’m so proud of our guys and our whole organisation has been fantastic.”

The Brave, who defeated the Perth Thunder 6-2 in their semi-final, had to settle for their second consecutive runners-up medal.

Perennial playoff contenders, the Ice overcame local rivals Melbourne Mustangs 4-2 in their semi-final game. They have been to the final tournament every year since 2006, winning the Goodall Cup four times and runners-up twice.

The Ice finished atop the standings with a record 22 wins from 28 games played. They won twice in overtime and only lost three games in regulation time all year.

It was a well-rounded team effort, as they didn’t have a single scorer in the top 10 during the season, but had eight in the top-40 skaters, showcasing their incredible depth.

Joseph Hughes led the team in scoring with 43 points and was the second-best scorer among Australian-born players.

Goaltender Dayne Davis led from the crease, finishing the season with most wins and the best GAA of 2.33.

Davis won his third consecutive Goodall Cup after transferring in the offseason from the Newcastle North Stars, who had won back-to-back championships in 2015 and 2016.

“The first two were great accomplishments and this one was just the cherry on top,” said Davis.

“We set records this season in almost every category and to come in with that weight on our shoulders and win was amazing.

“It was tough leaving Newcastle, but I chose Melbourne for a reason. All the great players here was a big factor.”

Retiring defenceman Paul Baranzelli was grateful to end his career with a Goodall Cup win.

“I couldn’t ask for a better finish,” the 37-year-old Minnesota native said. “This year we finally got it done and I’d like to thank the fans for everything you’ve done.”

After the win, coach Charles Franzen said the club’s mission had been accomplished.

“We had a goal for the season, which was winning the last game of the year,” he said. “This team has been getting stronger and stronger from week to week.”

“I want the thank all the supporters who come to the home games and travel with us to the away games. I’m really proud to say I’m part of this Melbourne Ice family.”
 

Regular Season standings:
1. Melbourne Ice: 71pts
2. Perth Thunder: 57pts
3. Canberra Brave: 46pts
4. Melbourne Mustangs: 40pts
5. Sydney Ice Dogs: 36pts
6. Sydney Bears: 33pts
7. Newcastle North Stars: 30pts
8. Adelaide Adrenaline: 23pts

Top scorers:
1. Benjamin Breault (Thunder): 58pts
2. Geordie Wudrick (Brave): 54pts
3. Dominic Jalbert (Brave): 53pts
4. Christian Oulette (Thunder): 48pts
5. Jamie Bourke (Mustangs): 47pts

[phelps 7,687]

This is a very imporant week for European Ice Hockey...

 

In fact, today is the 6th anniversary of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash (therefore today is the only day in this first months of the season without a single KHL game to be played, just to honor and in sign of respect for that tragedy)...

 

On the other side, this week almost every European top League gets underway...

 

yesterday it was the Belarussian Extraliga the first to begin their 2017/2018 season, meanwhile tonight the season opener of the Swiss National League is on the center stage...

 

then, tomorrow is the X-day, with the Finnish Liiga, the Czech Extraliga, the Slovak Extraliga, the German DEL, the EBEL (the Austrian "open" championship, with teams also from Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia), the Danish Superisligaen, the Norwegian Get-Ligaen and the Interliga (with teams from Hungary, Romania and the EBEL's Vienna Capitals farm team) ready to start their new journey...

 

after the "appetizer" with the start of the KHL and the CHL and waiting for the "big one" (the NHL, of course), I hope it's gonna be a great season of domestic Hockey for every Country...

 

take care and have fun with the most beautiful sport in the world...

[hckošice 14,843]

5 hours ago, phelps said:

This is a very imporant week for European Ice Hockey...

 

In fact, today is the 6th anniversary of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash (therefore today is the only day in this first months of the season without a single KHL game to be played, just to honor and in sign of respect for that tragedy)...

 

On the other side, this week almost every European top League gets underway...

 

yesterday it was the Belarussian Extraliga the first to begin their 2017/2018 season, meanwhile tonight the season opener of the Swiss National League is on the center stage...

 

then, tomorrow is the X-day, with the Finnish Liiga, the Czech Extraliga, the Slovak Extraliga, the German DEL, the EBEL (the Austrian "open" championship, with teams also from Italy, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia), the Danish Superisligaen, the Norwegian Get-Ligaen and the Interliga (with teams from Hungary, Romania and the EBEL's Vienna Capitals farm team) ready to start their new journey...

 

after the "appetizer" with the start of the KHL and the CHL and waiting for the "big one" (the NHL, of course), I hope it's gonna be a great season of domestic Hockey for every Country...

 

take care and have fun with the most beautiful sport in the world...

 

 

About Slovak Extraliga,

 

this will be the 25th season of Slovak National Ice Hockey championship and for the celebration of this anniversary there were 4 new features implemented for this season. the Fantasy League, the first ever Vysegrad Cup, the new All Star Weekend concept and live matches broadcasted in 2 TV channels altogether with the national public STV2 also the free slovak sport channel TV 213.

 

"The biggest hit of the season will be the Fantasy League. It is an incredibly popular format, I am surprised that no one has ever started with it in Slovakia. The fan will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the players, which also increases the attractiveness of the live matches following, "Pro-Hockey Manager Richard Lintner said at a press conference in Bratislava on Wednesday and added: "I'm very excited, I'm going to take part in this event, I already have my team, so I'm curious as to how much I can do compared to other fans, and how much I understand to this sport ."

 

In August started the Vysegrad Cup, where four Slovak and four Hungarian teams competed against each others. The winner will be decide on the January finals.

 

In order to have better transparency, also the video judging system is changing: "like in the NHL, we have the so-called coaches challenge." The coach of each team may require a review of the disputed situation in the game, and if it turns out to be unfounded, it loses the right for the time-out. The video will also check every single goal, and thus assign the scorer of the goal and the assistant(s).

Another major novelty is about the traditional All-Stars weekend system. In February, the Slovak extraliga all-stars will meet in Bratislava on a special All Star weekend with the all-stars of the Czech league, the All-stars of EBEL and the All-stars of the German DEL. Such a joint action has never been seen in hockey history.

 

"It is a present for the 25th anniversary of the league, last year during the All-stars weekend I met my colleague from Czech Republic Josef Řezníček in Poprad and he was excited about the show, so we started to speak about this idea to organize this year a festive event in Bratislava." informs the Tipsport League Leader.

More hockey in this new season will be to see also on TV screens. In addition to the traditional TV broadcasts on the public national broadcaster RTVS, the fans will be able to watch matches also on the TV 213 channel that will broadcast every Friday one selected Match. As part of the jubilee of the 25th year of the independent home league, they will be also many documents about legends, which have left an indelible mark on the Slovakian rinks.

 

As well as the national hockey team of Slovakia, the National championship competition will be supported by a new partner, Kaufland. which also means the change of the name  "Play Off Tipsport League will now be called Kaufland play off," concluded Lintner.

 

[hckošice 14,843]

6 hours ago, phelps said:

In fact, today is the 6th anniversary of the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash (therefore today is the only day in this first months of the season without a single KHL game to be played, just to honor and in sign of respect for that tragedy)...

 

Six years but it still hurt so much...

 

 

 

In memoriam...

 

 

Mikhail Balandin (31), Gennady Churilov (24), Alexander Galimov (26), Marat Kalimulin (23), Alexander Kalyanin (23), Andrej Kiryuchin (24), Nikita Klyukin (21), Maxim Shuvalov (18), Pavel Snurnitsyn (19), Ivan Tkachenko (31), Pavel Trachanov (33), Yuri Urychev (20), Alexander Vasyunov (23), Artem Jarchuk (21, )

 

Jan Marek (31), Karel Rachůnek (32), Josef Vašíček (30, )

 

Vitaliy Anikeyenko (24), Daniil Sobchenko (20, )

 

Sergei Ostapchuk (21), Ruslan Salei (36, ) 

 

Pavol DEMITRA (36, )

 

Robert Dietrich (25, )

 

Karlis Skrastins (37, )

 

Stefan Liv (30, )

 

[hckošice 14,843]

Two Ukrainian players to be investigated

 

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has issued provisional suspensions against Ukrainian players Eduard Zakharchenko and Volodymyr Varyvoda and launched an IIHF Code of Conduct investigation.

The two players of the Ukrainian men’s national team are provisionally suspended from all ice hockey competitions or activities authorized and organized by the IIHF or any IIHF Member National Association as of 14 September 2017. They have previously been suspended by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine from activities in the country.

The IIHF will investigate into the alleged violation of IIHF Code of Conduct Rule 3.2 (Match Fixing Violations) and/or Rule 3.3.3 (Failing to cooperate with any reasonable investigation).

Both players are suspected to have been involved in a match-fixing attempt and were therefore suspended within Ukraine following investigations by the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine and the national police.

The incident happened at the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I Group A in Kyiv, Ukraine, at the last game of the tournament on 28 April between Korea and Ukraine.

The players were allegedly involved in a match-fixing attempt in which Ukraine should have lost with a margin of at least two goals. However, the game ended with a 2-1 win for Korea in shootout.

After reviewing all available evidence and reports, including evidence of increased betting on a loss of the Ukrainian team by two or more goals, the IIHF has decided to open an investigation in the players’ alleged violations and requests the Ice Hockey Federation of Ukraine and the involved players to fully cooperate with the IIHF.

[phelps 7,687]

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/alex-ovechkin-olympics-nhl-russia-1.4291095

 

https://www.nhl.com/news/alex-ovechkin-releases-statement-regarding-olympics/c-291069080

 

shame...shame...and shame again on IOC, NHL and IIHF...

[hckošice 14,843]

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

2016/2017

 

 

 

RECAP

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We are the champions!

Winners from dozens of countries

 

 

With the season over also in the southern hemisphere, let’s celebrate the national ice hockey champions from dozens of countries.

They have battled through the regular season and in many countries also through the playoffs. And in the end all of them hoisted the trophy and celebrated being the best in their countries.

Here’s a list of winners from national men’s championships from most of the IIHF member countries.

 

Armenia : Ararat Yerevan
Australia : Melbourne Ice
Austria : Vienna Capitals
Belarus : Neman Grodno
Belgium : HYC Herentals
Bulgaria : Irbis-Skate Sofia 
Canada (Memorial Cup) : Windsor Spitfires
Canada (Allan Cup)  : Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts
China : Qiqihar
Chinese Taipei : Silver Beast 
Croatia : Medvescak Zagreb
Czech Republic : Kometa Brno
Denmark : Esbjerg Energy
DPR Korea : Pyongchol Pyongyang 
Estonia : PSK Narva
Finland : Tappara Tampere 
France : Gap Rapaces 
Germany : Red Bull Munich 
Great Britain : Cardiff Devils 
Greece : Tarandos Moschato
Hong Kong : Winner Medical Kings Hongkong
Hungary : DVTK Jegesmedvek Miskolc 
Iceland : Esja Reykjavik
Indonesia : Halodoc Ninjas
Israel : Rishon Devils
Italy : Ritten Sport
Japan : Oji Eagles Tomakomai
Kazakhstan : Nomad Astana
Korea : Anyang Halla
Kuwait : Kuwait Stars
Kyrgyzstan : Ala-Too Dordoj Naryn
Latvia : Kurbads Riga
Lithuania : Energija Elektrenai
Luxembourg : Tornado Luxembourg
Malaysia : Jazura Kuala Lumpur
Mongolia : Sharyn Gol
Netherlands : Heerenveen Flyers
New Zealand : Southern Stampede
Norway : Stavanger Oilers
Philippines : Manila Cricket Lighters
Poland : Cracovia Krakow
Qatar : Qatar Rink Rats
Romania : Corona Brasov
Russia : SKA St. Petersburg
Serbia : HK Beograd
Slovakia : HC 05 Banska Bystrica
Slovenia : Acroni Jesenice
South Africa : Kempton Park Wildcats
Spain : Txuri Urdin San Sebastian
Sweden : HV71 Jonkoping
Switzerland : SC Bern
Thailand  : Titanium-Sport Corner Bangkok
Turkey : Zeytinburnu Istanbul
Turkmenistan : Galkan Ashkhabad
Ukraine : HC Donbass
United Arab Emirates : Al Ain White Bears
USA (Stanley Cup) : Pittsburgh Penguins
USA (NCAA)  : University of Denver 

 

[hckošice 14,843]

Tomorrow morning are scheduled the medal matches of the very first Development Cup, a tournament of 4 countries that can not enter the IIHF world championships program because unfortunately they don´t have a background of competitive ice hockey at home to enable them to play competitive games in their World Championship division. The IIHF Statutes & Bylaws require minimum participation standards in terms of having a big enough pool of players domestically, a development program, a national championship of a certain size and having at least one permanent international-size ice rink in its territory to be able to play the ice hockey according to the official rules.

 

However, Andorra , Ireland , Morocco and Portugal are playing this weekend in Andorra this development cup.   

 

  dominated the preliminary round and tomorrow will play the final against   at 11:30 GMT +2. All results can be found Here

 

and here a pic of all competing teams

 

[hckošice 14,843]

MEN'S

DEVELOPMENT CUP

2017

 

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Morocco makes it

Wins first Development Cup and dreams of more

The Moroccan team celebrates after beating Ireland to win the 2017 Development Cup.

 

Morocco beat Ireland 11-4 in the final to win the inaugural Development Cup. It was the first time Morocco won an international tournament in the event that also included Portugal, which finished third, and host Andorra.

The four-team tournament is an initiative from some of the smaller IIHF member countries not part of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship program to give them an opportunity to play amongst each other similar like the IIHF Ice Hockey Challenge Cup of Asia for the Asian members.

Morocco was the strongest team both in the preliminary round and in the final. The team that mostly consists of Moroccans who learned and played their hockey in Europe and the Canadian province of Quebec finished the event with a 4-0 record.

Ireland has been the toughest opponent in the preliminary round – even though scores may tell otherwise – and it was similar in the final between the two most skilled and physically strongest teams. During Morocco’s first power play Thomas Carpenter gave Ireland the lead on a breakaway but a few moments later Mehdi Ghazi converted the man advantage to tie the game.

The Moroccans continued to be strong and were ice-cold with their chances. Hakim Bouchaoui gained Morocco its first lead and a natural hat trick from Damien Bourguignon made it 5-1 for Morocco after one period.

“Of course it was great to have such a good start but even if I scored three goals it was not just me, it was great work from the whole team. We had a good team here. Everybody contributed to winning the tournament,” said Bourguignon.

The son of a French father and a Moroccan mother was one of the most skilled player from the European-based contingent. Last season he played in the French second tier for the Clermont Sangliers and this season one league below for the Dijon Ducs. France, which held Morocco as a protectorate until 1956, has a big diaspora of people from Morocco and other North African countries.

“I played first time last summer in the Africa Cup. I really appreciated playing in that tournament and that’s why I came again for this event without hesitating a second,” the 25-year-old forward said.

“It was unbelievable to play in Morocco last year. If somebody had told me ten years ago that I’d play ice hockey in Morocco I’d have said “you’re crazy!” and when I got the invitation I first thought my friends were kidding me until I realized it was real and I went to Rabat. There’s a group of very motivated people from the President to the players.”

The second period against Ireland continued in the same direction the first frame had ended. Youssef Chadli, Charles-Hichem Balha and Yassin Ahrazem scored for Morocco, Ian Courtney had a marker for Ireland before a few players unloaded their emotions in a hard-contested game with their fists, just to later mix together for a more peaceful team photo after the game.

The end of the second period continued with four-on-four and one goal each for a 9-3 score after the second period. After exchanging three more goals in the third period Morocco won the game 11-4, got the trophy and celebrated with it and hearing their national anthem, the Cherifian Anthem, in the background.

Another player with high-level experience is captain Youssef Kabbaj from Westmound, Quebec, who played three years at the highest level of junior hockey in Canada’s QMJHL, four years of CIS college hockey and since 2016 minor league hockey in Quebec, this season for St-Cyrille Condors (LHSAAAQ).

Hakim Bouchaoui, who was born in the Swedish hockey town of Karlstad, is another player who plays amateur hockey in a top hockey country, currently for Swedish fourth-tier team Kils AIK.

“It was fun. It was hard in the beginning. We knew Ireland was going to play hard and be good,” Bouchaoui said. “But some of the guys play a lot and know the game well.”

Bouchaoui came in through his brother, who played for Morocco in the 2008 Arab Cup in Abu Dhabi. “We tried all kind of sports, football, hockey, but I loved hockey. I played first time last year in the Africa Cup. It was special since we played we played 3-on-3. It was a good experience.”

Ice hockey in Morocco is a rather young sport and the first generation of players who started as kids in Morocco is slowly moving into senior hockey. The roster included two young players developed in Morocco. One of them is Mohamed El Idrissi from Rabat.

“I started in 2005. They invited me to play for the Rabat Capitals when they started the team and I have liked playing hockey ever since then. I’m very proud to be a member of the national team and represent Morocco,” said El Idrissi, who usually plays one game a week plus practice in the Moroccan capital.

“We have played well here, won games. We have the qualities to play good hockey. My dream is to develop hockey in Morocco and find the means to play hockey and get a full-size ice rink. We need a rink and then we can move further. We don’t have a lot of means but we dream about a rink to play international ice hockey. We have two small ones but it doesn’t work to invite bigger teams who are used to play on international-size rinks.”

Mrini’s dream started in the '80s in Quebec

The Royal Moroccan Ice Hockey Federation is a life-long dream of Khalid Mrini, who grew up in Morocco before moving to the Canadian province of Quebec. Behind the bench he had his fellow Morocco-Quebecer, Development Director Adil El Farj, and his brother Mimoun Mrini, who lives in Morocco and served as head coach of the team.

“We work a lot. Now we have more than 400 players in Morocco. We started last year our first national championship. It’s growing. It’s a lot of work but the future is bright,” said Khalid Mrini.

His dream of ice hockey in the North African country started a long time ago. He moved to Quebec as a 17-year-old to study in Canada and immediately fell in love with ice hockey when he saw a Montreal Canadiens vs. Detroit Red Wings game on TV. “In Morocco sometimes you see in the sport news the Stanley Cup or the World Championship but just a 30-second highlight. When I first time saw a full game I started following the Montreal Canadiens and travelled to games a lot in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I love this game because it’s so exciting,” he said.

In 1983 he was at the International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament in Quebec. “I saw all these flags, Canada, United States, Switzerland and so on. I told my girlfriend that one day I’d put my flag there. She started laughing. She said “it’s only I dream”. I knew it was a dream but you can’t live without dreams.

“When they opened the first ice rink in Morocco in 2004 my brother called me and told me there’s an ice rink in Rabat. I went to Morocco and we started the first hockey school. In 2006 I went to Quebec City to participate with 14 players from Morocco. I called my ex-girlfriend. I told her “I made it!”. It took me more than 20 years but I did it. I had my flag there. It was a feeling I can’t explain, to have the flag there with the Canadians, Americans, Russians.”

After starting ice hockey at the small rink in Rabat – in the meantime a second small-size rink is used for hockey in Casablanca – Morocco started to look out for international contacts. First Moroccan kids played against kids from hockey countries who were kids of diplomats in Morocco. Later they hosted a Canadian team, French teams, Spanish teams, went to Switzerland for a ten-day camp. In 2008 they participated in the first and only Arab Cup in Abu Dhabi.

“In 2010 we became IIHF member, something I’m proud of because that’s where all the big and smaller hockey countries are members. I started to speak with many presidents from other countries and look for help,” Mrini said.

“Last year we had the first Africa Cup against teams from Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. The government started believing in us and saw that it’s getting serious. Two years ago we went from being a national association to being a Royal federation. It means a lot. It means the government started to believe in us and that hockey is growing in Morocco.”

Now he has his Moroccan flag in other tournaments too including the 2017 Development Cup where Morocco for the first time played national teams from Europe.

“I’m living my dream and being here today is still a dream because you have the Moroccan flag here, you hear the national anthem with the other countries. But it’s only the beginning. I want to show the hockey world that we’re serious. Hockey in Morocco is not exotic. We’re not just for the photo gallery,” Mrini said.

“Hockey is not just the big countries like Canada, USA or Russia. We have here the coverage on the IIHF website. And last year Luc Tardif came to Morocco. When I told the government that he is the IIHF Treasurer and President of the French Ice Hockey Federation, they realized that the IIHF is really supporting us. It was like a wake-up call and they started helping us more and more,” he added.

“Inshallah we will have an ice rink”

While Morocco has passionate diaspora players who represent the country of their roots, hockey has also grown in the country itself since its start. What once began with six players when the ice rink in the Mega Mall in Rabat opened is now a sport with eight club teams. When the national championship begins later this month, they will be joined by a ninth team.

Mrini’s dream is not over yet. He knows that to develop hockey within the country and be able to play internationally with homegrown players it needs more rinks. While the federation is working on having a third small rink in Agadir, the challenge is to get the first full-size one to be able to play five-on-five and join more established ice hockey countries in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship program.

“Now I’m looking to build an official ice rink in Morocco. In Rabat, or Casablanca. It’s not so important where it is but to have a big ice arena. I want to start in the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III,” Mrini said.

“In the beginning it was very hard but now the government saw our international tournaments and the national championship in Morocco. I have all the plans to build an arena from the IIHF. I have everything ready. Now just the money is missing but I’m working hard for it and Inshallah [if God wills] we will have an ice rink,” he said. “Morocco deserves it.”

 

 

Full Results Here