hckošice

Friendly Matches 19th April 2017 Mens Road to World Championships Slovakia - Finland 0-3 Italy - Kazakhstan 1-3 Another offensive disaster...from last 3 matches we scored only 1 goal !!! very mediocre offensive play..it´s clearly visible that the players themselves are totally frustrated by this situation...hopefully our potency will rise during the world championships but I am afraid I´m just beating a dead horse here...but well, we´ll see, the only positive thing is that it´s still only the preparation and results means absolutely nothing...but since the Day D is comming closer and closer, we know that a large amount of these players will go to Cologne, this is clear that we will have HUGE troubles this year with scoring goals..still there more than 2 weeks to complete team with some effective forwards..oh dear how much we will need them

Mens Under 18 Division I Group B World Championships 2017 in Bled (SLO) Day 4 (19th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 Japan vs Poland 3-2 16:30 Slovenia vs Italy 3-1 20:00 Ukraine vs Austria 1-2

Mens Under 18 Division I Group B World Championships 2017 in Bled (SLO) Day 4 Schedule (19th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 Japan vs Poland 16:30 Slovenia vs Italy 20:00 Ukraine vs Austria Livestream

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group B Czech Republic 4 - 5OT Russia Period-by-Period: 1-1, 1-1, 2-2, OT: 0-1 April 18th 2016, h. 19:30, Arena Spisska Nova Ves, Spisska Nova Ves Group B Final Standing Nation P W(OTW) L(OTL) GF GA +/- Pt. United States 4 4(0) 0(0) 22 7 +15 12 Russia 4 3(1) 1(0) 16 11 +5 8 Sweden 4 2(0) 2(0) 8 12 -4 6 Czech Republic 4 1(0) 3(1) 15 17 -2 4 Belarus 4 0(0) 4(0) 7 21 -14 0 Russians edge Czechs in OT Russia 2nd, Sweden 3rd, Czechs 4th in Group B Mark Rubinchik's second goal and third point of the game gave Russia a 5-4 overtime win over the Czech Republic to finish Group B. However, overtime was the least dramatic part of the game, as the 4-4 finish to regulation time was enough to determine the final order of finish in Group B, with the Russians taking second place, Sweden third and the Czech Republic fourth. The Czechs led 4-3 late in the third period. That score would have been enough to lift them above Sweden and into third place. However, Kirill Maximov’s high shot from a sharp angle with 2:05 left in the third period changed everything. Even with a one-goal defeat, however, Russia still would have finished second. "It was never even a thought for us that we would be happy with losing by one goal," Russian captain Alexei Lipanov said. "We were here to win this game, that's it. We had a good attitude today." Regardless of what's at stake, a game between the Czechs and Russians rarely lacks emotion. With both teams safely in the quarter-finals but not knowing their exact placement in Group B, it was a highly spirited affair. As has been the case all tournament, the Czechs enjoyed home-like support from the fans in Spisska Nova Ves, and came out of the gate playing hard. However, it was the Russians who opened the scoring midway through the first period. After just 23 seconds of power play time, Rubinchik sent an armour-piercing blast from the point through a crowd and inside the far post. "Usually when you take a one-timer you're just trying to hit the puck squarely and make it go as hard as possible, but I kinda saw the open corner on the goalie," Rubinchik said. "There's always a bit of luck involved in every shot you take, but yeah, it went in and I'm happy." A few minutes later the Czechs got their first power play and momentum swung back their way. Zhukov made a big save off a one-time blast from Martin Necas, and then with Russia back at full strength the Czechs tied it. Jachym Kondelik with a nice backhand pass to send David Kvasnica in alone, and he beat Zhukov with a nifty backhand deke. The teams traded great scoring chances early in the second period, and then Russia regained the lead near the midpoint when Nikita Shashkov provided a beautiful tip of Veniamin Baranov’s long wrister - re-directing the low shot into the roof of the net. But four minutes later the Czechs tied it again when FIlip Chytil found Filip Zadina in the high slot, and he beat Zhukov with a quick wrister. "We could have won the game in regulation time, but we let them come back every time we took the lead," Rubinchik said. "For sure there are going to be changes, I know that. But we battled to the end so we're happy about that." The Russians very nearly took the lead for the third time in the dying seconds of the middle period when they broke into the zone 2-on-1. Andrei Svechnikov re-directed Ivan Chekhovich’s cross-ice pass, but Jiri Patera slid across and made and made a spectacular pad save. Instead, they re-took the lead in the third period period when Andrei Svechnikov fired a wrister from the high slot. The Czechs then got goals from Krystof Hrabik and Jan Kern to take the lead for the first time in the game with 11:20 left in regulation time. It looked like that would be the goal that vaulted the Czechs into third place before Maximov’s goal. Quarterfinals Pairing 1A-4B Finland vs Czech Republic 1B-4A United States vs Switzerland 2A-3B Canada vs Sweden 2B-3A Russia vs Slovakia

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group A Switzerland 1 - 2 Slovakia Period-by-Period: 0-0, 1-1, 0-1 April 18th 2017, h. 19:30, Poprad Arena, Poprad Group A Final Standing Nation P W(OTW) L(OTL) GF GA +/- Pt. Finland 4 4(0) 0(0) 23 10 +13 12 Canada 4 3(1) 1(0) 18 13 +5 8 Slovakia 4 2(0) 2(1) 13 10 +3 7 Switzerland 4 1(0) 3(0) 9 14 -5 3 Latvia 4 0(0) 4(0) 3 19 -16 0 Slovaks win, finish third Loss sends Swiss to Spisska to face U.S. Slovakia rode the crest of a huge wave of fan support tonight to edge Switzerland, 2-1, to finish third in Group A standings. The Slovaks now will play Russia in the quarter-finals in Poprad while the Swiss must play the U.S. in Spisska Nova Ves. From the opening faceoff the game had a feeling of overtime to it. Both teams knew that to lose would mean a date with the United States on Thursday, not a favourable prospect. To win, a date with Russia or the Czechs was daunting, to be sure, but preferable all the same. "It was more about emotion tonight," said defenceman Marek Korencik, who set up the game-winning goal in the third, "but we won and that's about the character of the team." Coach Norbert Javorcik agreed. "In the first three games, I thought we showed a lot of skill," he said. "Tonight, we showed a lot of fight--we played with our hearts." Indeed, the Slovaks had an extra player on the ice all night long--the fans. "It's incredible," Korencik said. "They are so loud, but we understand what they are saying. This is something special. I love it! I thank them for this." "We wanted to win this game," declared Swiss forward Nico Hischier. "We came out strong, but I thought in the end I think the team that wanted it more won--and that was Slovakia. You have to be 100 per cent ready all game." Despite the pressure of the moment and some heavy hits after puck drop, tonight's game featured only two minor penalties, one to each team, and neither factored in the scoring. It took more than half the game to see a puck cross the goal line, but then fans were treated to two superb goals in quick succession. The first goal from the Slovaks was the result of an unbelievable series of checks by Adam Liska, who was on his stomach and on his knees as he outwitted not one, not two, but three Swiss players to keep the puck in the offensive zone. Finally, he scooped the puck to Adam Ruzicka who fired a quick pass to Milos Fafrak at the crease. Fafrak made a quick little deke and flipped the puck in at 11:20. But even as the sold-out arena was celebrating, the Swiss were creating a goal of their own. Coming in over the blue line on a three-on-three rush, Nico Hischier waited patiently and found Philipp Kurashev in front. He didn’t miss the wide open net. "I think both teams were nervous at first," Hischier said. "No one wanted ot make a mistake. In the second, we got more pucks to the net, and we were able to tie the game." The Slovaks struck for the next goal--the final goal--early in the third. Marek Korencik fired a long shot that was directed into the corner by goalie Akira Schmid, and Korencik chased after it. From the icing line he shot it at the net, and Jozef Balaz redirected the puck past a stunned goalie at 1:40. "In the intermission, we talked about being patient," Javorcik said. "We talked about believing in themselves."

Friendly Matches 18th April 2017 Mens Road to World Championships Hungary - Slovenia 3-5

Mens Under 18 Division I Group B World Championships 2017 in Bled (SLO) Day 3 (18th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 Japan vs Ukraine 5-4 After OT 16:30 Poland vs Slovenia 0-2 20:00 Austria vs Italy 2-5

Womens Division I Group A World Championships 2017 in Graz (AUT) Day 3 (18th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 Japan vs Norway 5-3 16:30 Hungary vs Denmark 2-0 20:00 France vs Austria 1-3

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016/2017 SWITZERLAND SC BERN 15th League Title ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SC Bern again First Swiss club in 16 years to defend title SC Bern won its 15th Swiss championship in Game 6 of the final series on the road against EV Zug and becomes the first Swiss team since the ZSC Lions Zurich (2000-2001) to win back-to-back championships in the National League A. It was a perfect season for the club with the biggest revenue in the league and the highest attendance in Europe. Each playoff home game was sold out with 17,031 fans and the fans had a lot to celebrate this season. Their team won the regular season with a 37-13 record and five points ahead of the other big team, the ZSC Lions Zurich that surprisingly lost to seventh-seeded HC Lugano in the quarter-finals making the road to gold less bumpy. After smooth playoff rounds against EHC Biel (4-1) and HC Lugano (4-1) the team faced EV Zug, which reached the final for the first time since 1998 when the club from Central Switzerland won its only championship. Zug had easily disposed of Geneve-Servette in the first round, 4-0, and beat HC Davos 4-2 in the semi-finals in a tighter series. The opponent for gold was again a higher hurdle. Too high. The first game in Berne ended with a 5-0 win for the home team. Two days later SC Bern won 4-2 on the road to set the tone for a seemingly easy series. However, Zug came back, won 2-1 in overtime on the road in Bern and 3-2 in overtime in Game 4 in Zug to tie the series. “They didn’t make it easy for us. It’s a great feeling to finish the championship like this. We’re pretty balanced all around. We have a great goalie, good forwards and a solid D core. When we play our best hockey we are tough to beat,” said Mark Arcobello, the top scorer of the regular season (25+30=55). In Game 5 SC Bern switched back to their best hockey. They regained the series lead with a 6-1 victory on home ice and got the chance to win the championship on Easter Monday in Zug. They did it with a 5-1 road victory to win the series 4-2. Three of the four wins SCB had ended with a gap of four or five goals. “We said we want to continue like in the last game, play aggressively and we managed to,” said Thomas Rufenacht, who stole the puck behind the Zug goal from former NHL defenceman Raphael Diaz to score the opening goal. The forward, who was born in Switzerland but spent some of his formative years in the U.S., has been the biggest revelation. Not seen as good enough for top-flight hockey he had to play four years in the B league before he got a chance in Zug of all teams. He made himself a name as agent provocateur with many penalty minutes. He’s still a tough guy but also found other skills by scoring important goals in the post-season. In 16 playoffs games he contributed seven markers and 11 assists. Ten of his 18 scoring points came from the final series against his former club Zug. While SC Bern is the first club in a long time to defend the Swiss title, the team that won the 2017 championship had a couple of changes for its challenge. In goal SCB signed Leonardo Genoni from HC Davos for this season to replace Marco Buhrer, who retired. With Arcobello they found their new top import. And the club also didn’t extend the contract with coach Lars Leuenberger but instead went with Kari Jalonen, who was coaching the Finnish national team during the previous two seasons. “It’s outstanding. I had a great team. Before the game we said that we came here to play our best road game and we did. Today we were so strong and they didn’t have a chance to win against us,” he said on Swiss TV after the final win. His recipe? Hard work and not being an easy coach during the regular season, while in the play-offs “we just let the players play”. For the next season SC Bern will aim at making it three in a row with more changes looming as David Jobin and Marc Reichert ended their career with another title while the club and long-time centre Martin Pluss, 40, decided to part ways after unsuccessful contract negotiations. While looking for high-calibre replacement for the Swiss answer to Jaromir Jagr, other teams will prepare to chase the team from the Swiss capital once again next season.

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group B Sweden 1 - 5 United States Period-by-Period: 0-2, 1-1, 0-2 April 18th 2016, h. 15:30, Arena Spisska Nova Ves, Spisska Nova Ves USA gets top spot with win With loss, Swedes’ placement depends on CZE-RUS Team USA claimed first place in Group B with a 5-1 win over Sweden in the last group stage game for both teams. Sweden will finish either third or fourth. The game was not as one-sided as the score indicated, however. Needing only a single point to secure top spot, the Americans took a stranglehold on the game by taking a 2-0 first period lead. They then traded goals in the second period, despite being outshot 21-6, with Dylan St. Syr making 20 saves, and added a couple of insurance markers in the third. Sean Dhooghe opened the scoring at the 8:40 mark, putting in a rebound after Adam Ahman had stopped Michael Pastujov’s initial shot. They made it 2-0 in the last minute of the period when Oliver Wahlstrom got his own rebound below the goal line and banked a shot in off Ahman. When Joel Farabee made it 3-0 on a penalty shot early in the second period, it looked like the Americans were home and cool, but the Swedes didn’t give up. Knowing they needed a regulation win to get top spot in the group, the Sweden came out with everything they had in the middle 20, peppering St. Cyr with shots. They didn’t solve the U.S. goalie, however, until the last minute of the period. On the power play, Filip Westerlund won a battle for the puck in the corner, cut out in front, and beat St. Cyr with a low backhander to give his team some hope heading into the final period. The Americans played a lot stronger defensively in the final period, however. And when Ryan Poehling one-timed Dhooghe’s centring pass home with 9:15 on the clock to restore their three-goal lead, they were able to breathe a bit of a sigh of relief. Walhstrom's second of the game with 1:55 left made it a 5-1 final. With six points, Sweden can finish either third or fourth in Group B, depending on the outcome of the nightcap in Spisska Nova Ves involving Russia and the Czech Republic.

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group A Finland 6 - 3 Canada Period-by-Period: 1-1, 3-1, 2-1 April 18th 2017, h. 15:30, Poprad Arena, Poprad Finland takes first place Early goals in each period undo Canada Finland defeated Canada 6-3 this afternoon in Poprad, giving it first place in Group A and a quarter-finals date with the fourth-place team from Group B. Kristian Vesalainen led the way with three goals for the Finns. Canada managed just 20 shots to Finland's 34 and looked like the slower team from the get-go. "The second and third periods especially were good for us," said Finnish defenceman Miro Heiskanen. "It was a good win for us. We played well on defence and limited their chances." Canada will now travel to Spisska Nova Ves on Thursday to meet the third-place team in Group B, quite likely Sweden. Finland scored goals early in each period to gain momentum and unnerve the Canadians. "It's a terrible feeling, and we don't want this to happen again," Matthew Strome said. "They got all the momentum in the second, and we couldn't get it back. "We have to give them some credit," Maxime Comtois added. "They're a fast team, highly skilled. We weren't disciplined, and they scored on the power play." It was a peculiar and strange start to the game, especially for Canada. Just 13 seconds after the faceoff, Jaret Anderson-Dolan took a needless penslty for runnung into goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The Finns took advantage immediately, scoring at the 56-second mark. Kristian Vesalainen's shot dribbled through the pads of Ian Scott and over the goal line. On the same play, Jared McIsaac took a slashing penalty, leaving Canada short-handed for almost the entire first three minutes of the game. But after killing off that second penalty, Canada tied the score. Joshua Brook made a nice pinch along the boards to intercept a puck and fired a great pass to Jack Studnicka who fired a quick shot past Luukkonen as he was falling. Finland started the second as it had the first, scoring early and putting Canada on its heels. This time it was Vesalainen jumping on a rebound off an Urho Vaakanainen shot at 0:30. Unlike the first, though, Finland continued to control play. In fact, Canada looked decidedly tired and managed only four shots all period. The Finns made it 3-1 on a great shot by Heiskanen over Scott's glove. "It was a really good pass from Jesse [Ylonen], and I saw a little space so shot there. Fortunately, it went in." Then, at 12:37, Suomi added a fourth goal. Santeri Virtanen made a nice steal of the puck just inside his own blue line and flew the length of the ice, making a smooth deke and backhanding the puck past the outstretched glove of Scott. Canada got one back late when Jett Woo drilled a shot top shelf over Luukkonen's shoulder at 18:38, but it was an uphill climb still remaining. As with the first and second, though, Finland struck early in the third. This time the goal came at 1:24 as Kasperi Kotkaniemi fed Teemu Engberg for a great re-direct in front. At that point, coach Darren Rumble deicded a shakeup was needed and pulled Scott in favour of Jake McGrath. Mackenzie Entwistle made it 5-3 at 11:18 on the power play when his low shot snuck under Luukkonen. That's as close as they got. Vesalainen added a final goal into the empty net to finish the scoring.

ROAD TO MEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 DAYS -17 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 Days to Go, Time to introduce another participating Team of the 2017 World Championships, today its the turn of Slovakia, Since winning silver in 2012 Slovakia has placed 9th overall for the last three seasons and will be aiming to finish higher at the upcoming World Championships where the team starts in Cologne. SLOVAKIA

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016/2017 GERMANY EHC RED BULL MUNICH 2nd League Title ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Munich makes it two in a row Bulls beat Wolfsburg to defend DEL title The EHC Red Bull Munich players celebrate with the trophy after their successful title defence in the DEL. With Game 5 serving as the match ball for EHC Red Bull Munich, the Bavarians convincingly took their second DEL championship in a row with a 4-0 victory over renewed opponent Grizzlys Wolfsburg. Entering the season as the favourite for a repeat performance, the team eventually finished first overall and then marched to the final with a 4-0 series win over newbie Fischtown Penguins Bremerhaven and a 4-1 series victory over the Eisbaren Berlin, before facing a Wolfsburg team hungry for vengeance. Wolfsburg’s path to the finals was a bit tougher, but aced with resilience. The team not only knocked off one of the biggest favourites, Cologne’s team Kolner Haie, in seven games, it then won a tough and emotional series over a tough Nuremberg Ice Tigers 4-2. Both opponents were felt to be among the biggest frontrunners for the title. Yet when the dust of the finals settled Monday afternoon, Munich once again secured the championship for itself, this time right in its own backyard in front of 6,142 spectators thanks to a 4-0 score. With this shutout, the team took the series four games to one. “I think things were real hard for us in the beginning today. Wolfsburg really put the pressure on,” explained Captain Michael Wolf, last spring’s finals MVP. “At the end of the day, we’re just really happy we got the job done.” And it was done in a manner that was truly sweet for the hometown crowd. As the clock ticked down, the team’s fans were already singing chants of victory and the players were rattling the boards with their sticks. The final buzz led to a wave of players hitting the ice with the enthusiasm of a youthful pee wee squad winning it all for the first time ever. “This is absolutely awesome being able to win this in front of the hometown fans. It just doesn’t get any better,” stated DEL Defenceman of the Year, Konrad Abeltshauser, for whom the moment was clearly surreal. “This is simply indescribable, being here on the ice and with my friends who are here with me today in order to celebrate this moment with me. When you’re kid out playing street hockey, you dream about one day winning a championship. This is like a dream.” The win was truly a special one for Jason Jaffray, one of the team’s key players, who was nonetheless injured before the playoffs and only saw time and a diminished role in seven playoff games after 39 points and a +24 rating in 45 regular season games. A key figure in the locker room and a fan favourite, the elation was clear in his voice: “There are no words for it’s like watching the last few seconds of the clock run down and then to hear the final buzz, feeling and hearing the support of the fans who’ve been so very loud the entire season, and especially in the playoffs. I’m going to rest up now and then celebrate this thing.” Enjoying his best season ever was Yannic Seidenberg, who not only put up 41 regular season points, but also a +26 rating. In 14 playoff games, he chipped in 10 points, just like last spring, but his ability to play a key two-way defensive role when it mattered most helped see him named the MVP of the finals. “We’re definitely not going to sleep much tonight,” stated the playoff ace, who once collected 19 points in 20 WHL playoff games for the Medicine Hat Tigers many moons ago. Just last season, on 24th April 2016 to be exact, it was these Bulls who defeated the very same Grizzlys Wolfsburg from Lower Saxony, four games to none. The Grizzlys managed to make things a wee bit closer this time around losing just 3-2 in the first two outings be-fore beating the Bavarians in Munich 2-1 in Game 3. But Munich left no doubt about its resolve to repeat as champions, winning Game 4 by a score of 7-2 and then shutting out Wolfsburg 4-0 Monday, allowing the team to celebrate the championship on home ice this time around. The first period saw a Wolfsburg team ready to lengthen the series and an early was al-most put together when winger Gerrit Fauser just barely missed the goal shortly after Brent Aubin had hit the post from a sharp angle. A compact defence was able to keep Mu-nich at bay until some heady forechecking led to a messy turnover and John Matsumoto eventually pumped in his sixth goal of the playoff in the 19th minute of play. It would not only prove to be the game-winning goal but would end up being the first time in the series where the team scoring the first goal of the game would end up being the game’s victor. Jerome Flaake, a former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick who had a contract with the Ham-burg Freezers before the team folded last summer, put Munich up 2-0 on a penalty shot in the 25th minute of play. Wolfsburg would then bring everything the team could, but couldn’t find a way passed the very strong Danny aus den Birken, before defenceman Derek Joslin and Brooks Macek, who was the top scorer of the DEL playoffs with 17 points, put the nail in the coffin with their goals in the 47th and 50th minutes respectively. For Danny aus den Birken, who stood tall in goal for all five games of the series and all 14 playoff games the team played, this championship will surely be seen as a good bit sweeter than last season’s, where his goaltending partner David Leggio played the hero appearing in all 13 playoff games on the way to the team’s first championship. In total, aus den Birken would end up playing 42 games this season after Leggio failed to find to his form of yesteryear. His 1.32 goals against average and 92.4 save percentage made the choice of netminders quite easy for coach Don Jackson. Speaking of whom, the title is now the seventh the U.S. coach hailing from the state of Minnesota has achieved in Germany, all of which have been garnered since the 2007/08 season. Already seen as one of Europe’s most successful coaches over the last decade, Jackson has added to a legacy of coaching success that is seeing him turn into a man of coaching legend. Once a teammate of Wayne Gretzky in winning two Stanley Cups, it’ll surely be a long time coming before another DEL coach achieves a similar form of suc-cess. “It’s very emotional. I’ve got tears in my eyes again. I’m happy about every single champi-onship and am just extremely proud of my team,” said Jackson, for whom post-championship interviews are becoming a thing of habit. It’s always been difficult and we’re just terribly happy to have been able to achieve this victory. I am unbelievably proud of the entire team, of my coaching colleagues, and natu-rally of my team. Every championship is special, both the one last year and this one here. For a Munich-based hockey team in Germany’s top pro circuit, it’s the fifth title after MTV won in 1922, Munich Hedos in 1994, and the Munich Barons in 2000. In addition, all four goal-scorers in today’s final victory joined the team last summer and thus enjoyed their first championship with the team. Once again deserving to be pointed out is the continued relationship between Jackson and all-round Danish forward Mads Christensen. After joining the Eisbaren Berlin for the 2010/11 season under Jackson’s tutelage, the Danish national team forward proceeded to win two championships. As soon as Jackson took over in Munich for the 2014/15 season, Christensen signed to play under his old coach. This is now their fourth overall championship together and Christiansen was able to contribute seven points to the cause after having racked up ten in last season’s playoff run. Not to be forgotten are Christensen’s Danish league championships, which he achieved in 2003, 05, 07, 08, and 09. There isn’t a player in Germany more familiar with winning than Denmark’s go-to face-off man and one has to wonder at this point just how much winning Christensen and Jackson can continue to do with each other. Bitter for Wolfsburg is not only their second loss in the DEL finals in a row, but also their third finals loss since 2011. A club continually built on a low budget, there’s not a doubt in the minds of Germany most well-known ice hockey pundits that no one is better at squeezing water out of stone than Wolfsburg coach Pavel Gross. Now Gross and GM Charlie Fliegauf will once again have to spend a summer at the chalk board figuring out how to get over the hump that has become the Red Bull Munich. For the champs, they’ll surely enjoy this victory as much as the last, before getting back to work on a third. For the Red Bull organization, it’ll be able to use Red Bull Salzburg, which failed to obtain what would have been its third championship in a row, as a case example of what Munich may need to do to secure its third in a row next season. For many in the business, simply keeping Don Jackson at the helm would be seen as the best recipe for that endeavour.

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Mens Under 18 Top Division World Championships 2017 in Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves (SVK) Day 6 Schedule (18th April 2017) GMT +2 Preliminary Round Last Day Group A in Poprad 15:30 Finland vs Canada 19:30 Switzerland vs Slovakia Group B in Spišská Nová Ves 15:30 Sweden vs United States 19:30 Czech Republic vs Russia *All 8 teams playing tomorrow are the 8 qualified for the quarterfinals. Latvia and Belarus both already finished their preliminary round journey and both will play the relegation round series. **In Group A, Finland vs Canada will be the direct match for 1st and 2nd place of the group. Switzerland vs Slovakia direct match for 3rd and 4th place of the group. ***In Group B, Sweden, USA and Russia are still fighting for the 1st place, Czech Republic still fighting for 2nd place. Livestream Mens Under 18 Division I Group B World Championships 2017 in Bled (SLO) Day 3 Schedule (18th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 Japan vs Ukraine 16:30 Poland vs Slovenia 20:00 Austria vs Italy Livestream Womens Division I Group A World Championships 2017 in Graz (AUT) Day 3 Schedule (18th April 2017) GMT +2 13:00 Japan vs Norway 16:30 Hungary vs Denmark 20:00 France vs Austria

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group B Russia 4 - 1 Belarus Period-by-Period: 0-0, 2-1, 2-0 April 17th 2016, h. 19:30, Arena Spisska Nova Ves, Spisska Nova Ves Russia starts shaky, rallies to win Russians to quarters, Belarus to relegation series Badly outplayed in the first half by Belarus, the Russians came back with a strong second half to win 4-1, thanks to two goals from Ivan Chekhovich. In their most recent outing against Sweden, the Belarusians were less than a minute away from getting at least their first point of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey U18 World Championship. This time out, they needed a win in regulation time to keep their hopes of advancing to the quarter-finals alive. For half of the game against Russia, they seemed determined to do just that. In the end, however, they finish the group stage without any points. Belarus was surprisingly dominant in the first period against a Russian squad that still has its sights set on claiming second place in Group B, winning in the shot count by a decisive 13-7 margin and getting most of the best scoring chances. The best chance came midway through the period when Vladislav Yeryomenko exited the penalty box, took a breakaway pass and skated right in on Kirill Ustimenko, who denied the Belarusian defenceman with a pad save. The Belarusian pressure continued into the second as the Russians took two straight penalties, but the game remained scoreless until the 27th minute, with the teams at full strength, when the puck squirted out from behind the Russian net to Artyom Anosov, who snapped home an unassisted goal. The reeling Russians seemed to wake up at that point, however. Just over a minute after the Belarusian goal, Ivan Drozdov was called for tripping and Russia went to the power play. They hadn’t generated much on their two opportunities in the first period, when they were perhaps trying to be a bit too fancy, but this time they put their work boots on and Chekhovich put home a rebound to tie the score. Less than a minute after that, they took the lead on a brilliant individual effort by Kirill Slepets, wrapping the puck around the net on his backhand before Andrei Grishenko could reach the far post. It was still a just a one-goal game, but with the monkey off their backs the Russians seemed to play with much more poise from that point onward. They gave the Belarusians very few chances in the third period, and when Andrei Svechnikov tipped Mark Rubinchik’s point shot on the power play midway through the third period to make it 3-1, one felt that they pretty much had the three points in hand. Chekhovich’s second goal of the game late made it a 4-1 final. WIth the win, the Russians are now tied with Sweden in points for second place in Group B. Depending on the outcome of the two games, they could still finish anywhere between second and fourth. Belarus, meanwhile, will have to win two out of three games against its neighbour from Latvia to stay in the top group next year.

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group A Slovakia 4 - 0 Latvia Period-by-Period: 1-0, 2-0, 1-0 April 17th 2017, h. 19:30, Poprad Arena, Poprad Slovakia to quarter-finals Latvia loses, 4-0, headed to relegation Slovakia broke open a close game with two goals in a dominant second period en route to a huge win in Poprad tonight. Goaltender Jakub Kostelny wasn't particularly busy, stopping just 15 shots for the shutout. The win gives Slovakia four points in Group A standings while winless Latvia has zero. Slovakia plays Switzerland tomorrow and can move up to third place with a win. "We were a bit nervous befor the game," admitted Adam Ruzicka, one of the goalscorers tonight. "The crowd is crazy! It's ridiculous! But they're supporting us, which is great. Once we scored the first two goals, we felt much better. We just have to keep going and win every game now. That's our goal." The Latvians will play in the best-of-three relegation against Belarus starting Thursday. They have scored only three goals in four games and surrendered 19. "You can't win if you can't score," lamented captain Deniss Smirnovs. "Now we have to get ready for Belarus. It's going to be a tough series." Both teams stared out cautious in the early going, but Slovakia got the only goal of the first on a goal by Matus Havrila. Patrik Hrehorcak barreled down the right wing and chipped a pass in front. Goaltender Janis Voris got his stick on it, but the puck fell to Havrila, who nudged it in at 17:05. Latvia had an early power play in the second but couldn’t do much with it, and after that the Slovaks dominated. Voris was excellent in the Latvian goal, but he couldn’t stop them all. The Slovaks, boosted by another impressive home crowd, made it 2-0 at 6:47 courtesy of a great snap shot from Ruzicka from the right faceoff dot. "I pracise that every day," he explained. "I saw the open lane and took a shot. And it went in!" And the pressure continued. The Latvians were left scrambling in their own end shift after shift, and the hosts were rewarded with another goal at 11:05. On this, Milos Roman connected with a loose puck in front. "After the first period, we just talked about staying calm," Ruzicka added. "We just wanted to play hockey and focus on scoring goals." Martin Fehevary added an insurance goal early in the third on a power play, much to the delight of the celebrating fans who chanted and drummed their way merrily through the final 20 minutes.

Friendly Matches 17th April 2017 Mens Road to World Championships Austria - Italy 6-5 After OT

We knew that this generation is good, there some really interesting (maybe even NHL) prospects such Fehervary, Liška, Ružička, Miloš Roman, Hrehorčák, Krivošík...but this is really huge what they are able to show here, even more when we consider the pressure from the stands...The crowd is fantastic

well, now it looks much better, 3-0

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016/2017 KHL SKA ST. PETERSBURG 2nd KHL Title ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Znarok leads SKA to Gagarin Cup Russia’s head coach wins KHL for third time SKA St. Petersburg is this season’s Gagarin Cup champion after wrapping up the KHL’s showcase series with a 5-3 victory in Game 5 at Metallurg Magnitogorsk. The Army Men powered through post season, dropping just two games in four rounds of playoff action to regain the crown it won for the first time in 2015. The final series, which pitted together the two most recent Gagarin Cup winners, was expected to be a hard-fought battle. Metallurg, led by the scoring phenomenon that is Sergei Mozyakin, faced a SKA team that had set new records for goals in the regular season. Expectations were high for a goal-feast that would go the full distance, but SKA had other ideas. Mozyakin’s devastating partnership with Danis Zaripov and Jan Kovar was oddly muted: that powerful Magnitka line scored just two goals in five games in the final series as SKA had the edge throughout. That left Zaripov stranded on the 15 goals he scored in the first three rounds; one more marker would have set a new post-season goalscoring record for the league. Instead, it was SKA’s troika of Nikita Gusev, Yevgeni Dadonov and Vadim Shipachyov that dominated the final. Shipachyov was the architect of much of the team’s most dangerous plays, Gusev was a constant menace around the net and Dadonov undermined Metallurg with four goals and an assist in the final series. The forward admitted that this win was a bigger thrill than SKA’s success in 2015, especially after helping his team battle back to win game five. “I can’t really say how much it means. For me, this is even bigger than when I first won the cup. Back then, I didn’t really know what to expect, but this time I knew and I wanted it even more,” he told championat.com. “Today, it was tough to be down 0-2, but maybe it eased a bit of the tension around us and we calmed down.” Despite SKA’s powerful progress to the cup, captain Ilya Kovalchuk was quick to dismiss suggestions that his team had it easy. “All the series were really tough, including the first one against Vityaz,” he told KHL.ru. “Maybe it looked easy, but the opening game was anything but. Lokomotiv fought hard, Dynamo was the same, then we faced Magnitogorsk, the defending champion and a team that had won twice in three years.” While SKA became the fourth team to claim a second Gagarin Cup crown, head coach Oleg Znarok and his assistant Harijs Vitolins won the trophy for the third time – a KHL record. Vitolins, who continued as head coach at Dynamo Moscow after Znarok left to take over Team Russia, was reunited with his old colleague in the KHL this season and talked about the differences between victory in Russia’s two biggest cities. “It’s our first year at SKA so we had to get used to this team and it’s very hard to do that quickly,” he told KHL.ru. “We gathered a skilful roster, but we had to get them playing our game, understanding what we required. It took a lot of work. And, of course, there was pressure – SKA is a club with a big reputation.” For Metallurg, foiled in its bid to become the first team to win three Gagarin Cups, there was disappointment – and a sense that the series was closer than the scoreline suggested. Oskar Osala, who was denied a late equalizer on Sunday by a combination of Mikko Koskinen’s pad and the inside of the post, told KHL.ru: “It’s hard to pick out any one decisive moment in this series. Every game was tough. It was right at the end of each game that the outcome was decided.” Zaripov spoke up for his team-mates, insisting: “We can all look each other in the eye and thank each other for a good season.”

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group B United States 5 - 2 Czech Republic Period-by-Period: 2-1, 2-1, 1-0 April 17th 2016, h. 15:30, Arena Spisska Nova Ves, Spisska Nova Ves Americans stay perfect vs Czechs Gildon’s hat-trick keeps USA on top of Spisska group Defenceman Maxwell Gildon scored three times and Jacob Tortora also had two points, as the USA beat the Czech Republic 5-2 in a wide-open game. The Czechs were led by offensively by Jan Kern with two assists, in a game which saw three penalty shots and lots of power play time and odd-man rushes. “I would say that it wasn’t our best game 5-on-5,” admitted U.S. coach John Wroblewski. “We really didn’t get to the grind or control the offensive zone like we need to, so there are certainly some things to work on.” At their best or not, with nine points in three games, the Americans stay perfect and pull ahead of Sweden for top spot in the group, while the Czechs stay even with Russia - for now. The Czechs came out of the gate hard, cheered on by a partisan crowd of 3856, and scored less than two minutes in when Ondrej Machala’s wrister from the high slot beat Dylan St. Cyr high to the glove side. “You just try to look past it and play like it’s a 0-0 game all the time,” St. Cyr said about giving up an early goal. “I really don’t think it has a big impact. It happened a couple games ago against Russia as well. You just reset your mind and move on to the next shot.” After that, St. Cyr stopped 24 or 25 shots the rest of the way. “He’s our rock,” Wroblewski said of St. Cyr. “I think it was their first shot that went in - it was a great shot by their guy - but Dylan just continues to persevere.” Ten minutes later the Czechs looked to double their lead on the power play, but instead Brady Tkachuk tied it on a shorthanded breakaway, making a nifty move to his backhand and sliding the puck under Jakub Skarek. While still on the power play, Filip Zadina had a golden chance to restore the Czech lead right after the goal but hit the goalpost, but with the teams back at even strength the Americans took their first lead of the game when Grant Mismash found Gildon at the top of the slot, and he went high, glove side on Skarek. “It was a great play by Grant coming in and giving me the puck,” Gildon described. “I just kinda shot it and did the rest.” Of the team’s start, Gildon said of the Czechs: “They’re a good team and they came out pressuring us hard, and we just had to weather the storm and play the way we know how to play.” The teams opened it up a bit more in the second period, combining for 25 shots on goal, including a penalty shot each way. The Czechs got a third straight power play early in the period but it was the Americans who got the best chances with a pair of 2-on-1s that failed to convert. Then with the teams playing 4-on-4 Tortora put the Americans up by a pair, skating in alone on Skarek and beating him high to the glove side. Midway through the period, Jan Hladonik had a chance to cut the Czech deficit in half when he was hooked on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot, but was denied by the blocker of St. Cyr. “It’s just another shot - nothing special,” St. Cyr cooly said. “That’s how I think about it in my mind - there’s just no defenders.” As for three penalty shots in a single game, he laughed: “No, I’ve never seen that before, except in a shootout.” Then a couple of minutes later, Gildon’s second of the game made it 4-1, after which Skarek was lifted in favour of Jiri Patera. “It was another 2-on-1 situation,” Gildon said of his second goal. “Logan Cockerill came in and faked a shot and gave it to me backdoor and I had an easy tap-in.” After Ostap Safin’s backhander short side brought the Czechs back to within two, Michael Pastujov had a chance to once again increase the American lead late in the middle frame when he was awarded a penalty shot, but he couldn’t slip the backhander between Patera’s pads. In the third period, Oliver Wahlstrom was given the game’s third penalty shot, but was denied by Patera, who stopped every shot he faced until beaten by Gildon’s hat-trick goal with exactly two minutes to play. About the chance for the hat-trick, Gildon said: “It was in the back of my mind but we needed to keep the lead and that’s what we were focused on most.” The Americans did hold on for the win, setting up a game on Tuesday where they need just a single point to finish first in the group. After that, in the group’s final game, the Czechs will face Russia with third place on the line.

well, I´m definitely not sober right now neither but not drunk too. I tried to eat something everywhere, thats my tactic from my high school times..and it work

yes, nowadays especially in the big cities this tradition is slowly dying...unfortunately. but in the small cities and villages it´s always alive, we are known that we love and appreciate our traditions, and this one is here for more than 1000 years, it´s one of the few occasions to see all families reunited and celebrate in a funny and festive way easter. Methods vary ba regions ofc, in the east and south-east part where I live it´s still very strong, the boys wake early in the morning, wear festive clothes and meet together to go and visit their girlfriends, girls classmates and female members of their families. Throw cold water (a lot of cold water) and then drink something with the girls, eat some good food, receive awards (some chocolade eggs from the young girls, coloured ribbons from their girlfriends and usually some money from the older womens) at the end of the day the guys are after visiting everyone usually really drunk

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group A Canada 7 - 3 Switzerland Period-by-Period: 2-0, 1-2, 4-1 April 17th 2017, h. 15:30, Poprad Arena, Poprad Newcomers do it all Canada's late additions score big in win Cody Glass and Jack Studnicka both arrived in Poprad yesterday from Canada, and both scored twice today in their team's 7-3 win over Switzerland. Glass added an assist to make it a three-point debut. The Swiss kept the score close but were always playing from behind and couldn't quite put enough pressure on Canada. The result was a 7-3 score. The win gives Canada eight points in Group A, one behind Finland. Thes teams will play tomororw night with first place on the line. The Swiss remain in third with three points and have qualified for the quarter-finals, but they'll play either the first- or second-place team from Group B, not an easy task. After a slow start to the game, Canada opened the scoring midway through the first when a harmless-looking shot from Kyle Olson was tipped in front by Studnicka. Less than three minutes later, it was 2-0. Jocktan Chainey made a nice pass to Glass, who beat Zaetta through the pads at 12:29. Studnicka got his second of the day at 3:31 of the second. Matthew Strome his him with a nice pass, and Studnicka got his body n position to fire home a on-etimer. But Canada didn't do things the easy way. A power play miday through the period proved costly when Keijo Weibel scooped up a loose puck in centr ice and went in alone on McGrath, beating him 5-hole with a nice finish to the short-handed goal. Canada thought it had increased the lead to 4-1 a bit later, but video review ruled that Stylianos Mattehos tipped the puck in with a high stick. That, too, proved to be a costly turn of events for Canada, and a fortuitous one for the Swiss. Canada took two late penalties just four seconds apart, and the Swiss scored with the 5-on-3. Simon le Coultre made a great slap-pass form the point, and Philpp Kurashev made an equally nice re-direct past McGrath. All of a sudden, it was 3-2 and the Swiss were gaining in confidence. Canada, however, was quick to wipe that away in the third. Glass got his second of the game on a similar play to Kurashev's goal. This time it was Chainey at the point finding Glass in front for the tip. just 1:15 in. Glass added an assist at 9:47 off the rush, dropping a pass to Olson, who wired a shot past Zaetta. Nando Eggenberger got a late goal for the Swiss, knocking in a rebound while falling to the ice at 16:07. With nothing to lose, Swiss coach Thierry Paterlini pulled Zaetta with more than three minutes to go, but Mattheos put one in the empty net to seal the deal. Mackenzie Entwistle finished the scoring with a goal at 19:41.