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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.

We are the champions Luxembourg

MEN'S DIVISION III WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First gold for Luxembourg Team beats host Bulgaria for Division III title First tournament win ever: Luxembourg celebrates after beating host Bulgaria in the gold medal game of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III. Luxembourg, one of the smallest countries in the world, was triumphant after the final game of the 2017 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division III. The Winter Palace in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia was voiced with chants and emotional outbursts from the winner’s locker room for long after the last buzzer and the closing ceremony. And it was a well-deserved celebration. For the first time in history Luxembourg won an IIHF event. Beating Bulgaria for the Division III gold also means Luxembourg will play at Division II for the first time since 2004 when the tea was relegated. In the final for the gold medals Luxembourg defeated the host Bulgaria 10-4 as three players had two goals and one assist (Benny Welter, Miroslav Mosr and Thierry Beran) and the goalie Philippe Lepage made 57 saves! “We came here to win it all. We believed that we can do it and were fighting for the whole 60 minutes. For Luxembourg this is unbelievable success. Our goal for next year is to keep our place in Division II Group B,” said Petr Fical, the jubilant head coach of Luxembourg, after the closing ceremony. Eight teams were supposed to participate in the tournament using a new format with two round-robin groups followed by the cross-over semi-finals and placement games. Unfortunately Bosnia & Herzegovina withdrew from the championship just a few days before the start of the tournament leaving Group A with just three teams. The schedule was played as planned, however all Bosnia & Herzegovina games were count as forfeited (5-0 win for the opposing team). Bulgaria finished first in Group A with wins over Chinese Taipei (3-0) and Hong Kong (10-3) and Luxembourg was the winner of Group B after defeating the United Arab Emirates (17-0), Georgia (6-4) and South Africa (3-1). In the semifinals the hosts beat against Georgia, 9-3, and Luxembourg routed Hong Kong, 8-1. This was just the second competition in Division III for Bulgaria since the introduction of the new IIHF categorization in 2001. The previous one was in 2014, when the tournament was in Luxembourg and Bulgaria was undefeated and gain back its place in Division II. In the first day of that event Bulgaria beat the hosts in a roller-coaster. Luxembourg was leading 4-3 and 5-4 after getting back from 0-3. In the end Bulgaria won 8-5. There was just one more match-up between the two countries on the men’s level in the past World Championships – a 17-2 win for Bulgaria in 2002 in the Division II Group B. So the expectations of the crowd of 950 spectators at the Winter Palace were very high for a home success, but there were some concerns regarding Bulgarian defence. The start was quite a positive one for Bulgaria’s “Lions” as Miroslav Vasilev scored at 2:15 after a great pass from Stanislav Muhachev. Thierry Beran tied the score two minutes later, but Alexei Yotov and Georgi Iskrenov tallied for 3-1 lead at 15:15. Once again a defensive mishap led to a Luxembourg’s goal just 32 seconds later. The first period finished 3-3 and the turnaround continued in the second as Kai Linster scored on a power play to give Luxembourg its first lead in the game, 4-3. “I don’t know why, but our team was tired already in the second period. They didn’t have energy anymore. What are the reasons for that? Maybe they are not used to play so many games in a week or train so hard. In the same time Luxembourg played smart, they were just getting the puck out of their zone, without any risks and were waiting for opportunities. It’s a disappointing night for sure. We had many chances, but couldn’t score,” said Daniel Cuomo, the head coach for the host nation. Bulgaria had its chance to tie on a penalty shot after Ronny Scheier, the captain of the Luxembourger team for the 13th straight World Championship, was penalized for falling on the puck in the goal crease. In this crucial moment there was a long delay as the official didn’t let the shot to be taken by Muhachev. In the end Ivan Hodulov took the responsibility, but couldn’t beat Lepage, who made 24 saves just in the second period and had the game of his life. Three minutes later Yotov scored after a crisp breakaway pass from Muhachev, when their team was shorthanded and the crowd was enthusiastic again. But not for long as Luxembourg finished the period with a 7-4 lead after three more goals by Benny Welter, Miroslav Mosr and Francois Schons. The last one in this sequence was on a two-man advantage following consecutive penalties to Iskrenov and Muhachev. “Mentally we were very strong. We didn’t panic at all after being two goals behind. It was very important to comeback quick and we were able to do it. The key moment was when we scored the sixth and the seventh goal. These goals broke the opponent down,” said Czech-born Petr Fical, who played for Germany at the 2006 Olympic Games and at World Championships in the period 2005-08. Bulgaria’s coach Cuomo had the same opinion: “The 6-4 goal was the crucial one. I could see the effect that it had on the bench, the body language of the players.” There were small signs of hopes in the first part of the third period, but Bulgaria couldn’t score on two power plays and then everything went downfall with new ostentatious examples of lack of discipline. “Nowadays hockey is built on good defencemen, who can carry the puck. It’s not a secret that we have problems in this regard. We have veteran defencemen who are not in great shape. On top of that when something goes wrong, we are losing the whole structure, we indulge in disappointment and the penalties are coming,” explained Cuomo. At 51:06 Mosr capitalized on another two-man advantage and just 104 seconds later Thierry Beran made it 9-4. The last goal was scored on an empty net by his father Robert Beran, who finished the historic journey with most points (19, 6+13) for Luxembourg and was voted as the best forward of the tournament. The 47-year-old Robert Beran hails from Slovakia but has been based in Luxembourg since the early 1990s and was even the national team’s head coach at the 2000 World Championship D-Pool. “It was a wonderful week for me and Luxembourg hockey. To share this moment with my son and so many players that I had coached from the scratch is just a dream come true,” said Robert Beran, who works in a construction company besides being a coach and a player. He has also a younger son, who is 15 years old. It’s one more motivation for Robert to keep playing: “Soon we will be able to complete a full Beran forward line for the national team.“ “To be honest, I expected a closer game, but today we played great hockey, great defence too. The key for us was the team effort. The whole week we had awesome team work, we worked hard for each other – on the ice, outside of the ice. It was unbelievable experience. Our general manager Alain Schneider did a great job. He organized two exhibition games and got the team together earlier. And we won even though there are some players who couldn’t come to Sofia, because they are working and couldn’t take a leave-of-absence from their jobs,” explained Fical, who is in his second year as a Luxembourg’s head coach. So far the best showing from the small nation (570,252 population; 399 registered players) in Division III play had been a second-place finish in 2003, last year they finished fourth. But in 2003 there were just three teams in the group and Luxembourg won against Turkey and lost to New Zealand. From the 77 IIHF members only Andorra, Iceland and Liechtenstein have a smaller population than Luxembourg. It’s interesting to know that Luxembourg became an IIHF member on 23 March 1912, along Sweden, as the 10th and 11th members since its founding. The World Championship debut was almost on the day 80 years later though and the second participation came in 2000. On 21 March 1992 Luxembourg lost its first official game in Johannesburg against host South Africa, 23-0. Since 2002 Luxembourg is a regular part of the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship program in the men’s category and in the last 10 years had eight bronze medals in the Division III and two fourth-place finishes. In Sofia, Luxembourg not only had its first gold medal in any tournament but set national records for wins (5) and goals allowed in one tournament (10). Results Thread

I guess yes, I have one french friend and he came with his girlfriend few years ago to Slovakia and it was during Easter and I´ll never forget her face when she realized btw there a video about foreign peoples during a journalist congress, someone showed them a video about this easter tradition and the reactions were ...well.. but really it may look for foreigners really strange maybe even offensive and I don´t know what...but it´s not at all, it´s really funny and the most important, majority of girls want it. trust me, they even feel offended if you don´t visit them, this is something like a popularity contest for them, the most visited girl is like the most popular...

Finally back home... again a interesting and festive day, with thousands of guys wearing their best festively clothes walking here and there with buckets and plastic bottles Some pics from todays Slovak Easter monday https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/463921/foto-tradicna-oblievacka-a-sibacka-v-regionoch-slovenska/ and a videoshoot from Bratislava of a slovak news channel http://www.ta3.com/clanok/1103742/sibacka-oblievanie-aj-cokoladove-vajicka-velka-noc-vrcholi.html

Mens Under 18 Top Division World Championships 2017 in Poprad and Spišská Nová Ves (SVK) Day 5 Schedule (17th April 2017) GMT +2 Group A in Poprad 15:30 Canada vs Switzerland 19:30 Slovakia vs Latvia Group B in Spišská Nová Ves 15:30 United States vs Czech Republic 19:30 Russia vs Belarus Livestream

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2016/2017 LATVIA HK KURBADS 1st League Title ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kicking the habit HK Kurbads hoists first Latvian league title Seemingly cursed for life as second best, HK Kurbads from the town of Ogre clicked into gear when it mattered the most to win their first Latvian championship trophy. Losing out in three consecutive Latvian championship playoff finals series between 2014 to 2016, perennial silver medallists HK Kurbads looked destined to once again head down that same well-trodden path of disappointment in 2017. Trailing 0-3 in games in the best-of-seven final series against Mogo Riga, this crop of HK Kurbads players proved however to be made of much sterner stuff that their predecessors as they staged a remarkable fightback to claim four straight victories to prevail 4-3 in the championship series. The decisive game completing the turnaround saw HK Kurbads win 2-1 on the road on with head coach Peteris Ostosovs relying on three veterans leading the way to glory. A disciplined defensive display saw Martins Raitums being in inspiring form between the pipes, while team captain and blueliner Toms Bloks lead by example to fire his team in front on power play before the winner was scored by Edgars Brancis. HK Kurbads' Toms Hartmanis also stood out and received the Most Valuable Player award. Based in the town of Ogre, home of 30,000 and 36 kilometres east of the capital Riga, HK Kurbads finished second in the standings behind Mogo Riga during the regular season in the seven-team strong Virsliga. En route to winning gold, they first eliminated HK Zemgale/LLU 3-2 in matches during a tricky semi-final series before Mogo Riga awaited in the finals. Led by inspirational top marksman Elvis Zelubovskis, Mogo Riga raced clear to edge HK Kurbads during the first three close fought encounters (3-1, 3-2, 3-2) and seemed to be cruising towards their second championship in three years. By the time game four came around HK Kurbads looked destined to once again wilt under pressure. In front of their home supporters and with the game locked at 1-1, HK Kurbads got themselves into double trouble. A Koba Jass misconduct penalty at 22:15 was followed by boarding call on Aleksandrs Galkins 25:13. Mogo Riga went going for the killer blow but hanging on by the skin of its teeth, HK Kurbads weathered the storm before stepping up a gear to hit four answered goals in around nine minutes before the second frame came to a close. Steaming ahead to win game four 7-4 following a sudden goal explosion shifted the momentum into HK Kurbads favour which they never relinquished. They won game number 4-3 on the road, followed it up by a 4-1 win in front of their home fans and when crunch time came calling during the decisive seventh game, HK Kurbads powered ahead with the goal sealing the historical win arriving with 2:54 left of the game and scored by 31-year-old Brancis, who had returned to his native Latvia after starting the season in the MOL League with SC Csikszereda. With Continental Cup hockey now awaiting HK Kurbads, its inaugural championship trophy comes at a time as changes loom around the corner for the club formed in 1996. A new ice arena set to be inaugurated during the close season will see HK Kurbads move into their new facilities further up the Daugava river in the Latgale suburb of Riga, as a new exciting chapter is set to start in the club's history as reigning Latvian champions and the team to beat.

MEN'S UNDER 18 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group B Belarus 2 - 3 Sweden Period-by-Period: 1-2, 1-0, 0-1 April 16th 2016, h. 19:30, Arena Spisska Nova Ves, Spisska Nova Ves Belarus nearly does it Swedes avoid Spisska shocker in dying seconds Emil Bemstrom scored a power-play goal with only 12 seconds left to give Sweden a 3-2 win over Belarus. The Swedes outshot their opponents by a 52-14 margin, but it was only a late goal that was the difference. Belarus thought it had cleared the zone to force an overtime, but Rickard Hugg kept the puck in and found Bemstrom wide open in front of the goal. Bemstrom's quick shot beat Andrei Grishenko, who was sensational in goal for the losers. As a result, Sweden improves its record to 2-1 while Belarus is still looking for its first win after three games. Sweden has now beaten Belarus in all six U18 meetings, but none closer than tonight's nail-biter. Belarus now has a do-or-die game with Russia tomorrow. If it wins in regulation, and Russia loses again on Tuesday to the Czechs, Belarus advances to the quarter-finals. Anything less and it will be Belarus going to the relegation round from Group B. Sweden, last year's silver medallists, now has a day off before finishing its round robin on Tuesday against the United States, bronze-medal winners a year ago. The Swedes struck for two goals in the first four minutes of tonight's game, suggesting a whalloping was in the works. David Gustafsson scored just 1:12 into the game and Kalle Miketinac made it 2-0 at 4:09. But there was to be no whalloping. Despite badly outshooting Belarus, it was the underdogs who managed to cut the lead in half at 12:38 when Vladislav Yeryomenko scored. Shots were 17-2 after 20 minutes. Goals were just 2-1. Midway through the second, Artyom Baltruk managed to tie the game, and Belarus played a game of cat-and-mouse the rest of the night. The Swedes dominated, controlled play, and had most of the puck possession, but they couldn't beat Grishenko. And then, with only 1:30 left in regulation, Baltruk took a tripping penalty. His teammates did a great job killing it off, but then the fatal final few seconds resulted in Bemstrom's goal, a Belarus loss, and no points in the standings.