I had decided to cut my trip short somewhat, as I really
wasn’t feeling going back to Switzerland today, so I would cancel the last two
games on my trip and head home from Bratislava today.
I was up at 6:45 in Munich in order to get the train to
Bratislava in time to meet my good friend Michal, who hooked me up with my job
at Slovan Bratislava. The train ended up being around forty minutes late which
messed my connections up somewhat, but I was in Bratislava by mid-afternoon,
and met Miko outside the Petrzalka railway station, where I was soon whisked
away to a pizzeria. An afternoon meal of pizza made with bryndza (sheep’s
cheese) was on the menu, and it came highly recommended, and I sure can vouch
for that.
SKA as individuals are such a good side, and it’s no wonder
why they’ve consistently been at the top of the Western Conference. At one
point in the second period, they were outshooting Slovan 26:11, and it didn’t
take long for them to equalise. A shocker of a play by Ivan Svarny on the point
whilst Slovan were on the powerplay gave SKA a 2 on 1 break, and Thoresen found
Petr Prucha, and the former New York Ranger deked Janus to score. Janus, who
would make a number of saves on similar two on one breaks was unlucky not to
get a piece of Prucha’s effort. Still Slovan seemed able to absorb what SKA
could throw at them, and then try and build attacks of their own. Late in the
second period, Michel Miklik burst through the SKA line and was unlucky not to
score on the breakaway. However, the refs, who really seemed to call the
slightest infraction adjudged Kevin Dallman to have hooked back the former
Kosice man, so Miklik had a penalty shot. His effort was… well it was shocking.
Tried to go five hole from the hash marks, and it was easily knocked away by
Stepanek.
After a quick detour to Ruzinov, Miko and I headed into the
centre of town for a beer after the game, still beaming after seeing an
incredible game. Soon though it was time to head home, as Miko had work and I
had to be up early for my flight back to the UK, which now closes this chapter,
as well as finishes the blog that I’ve been writing for this trip. It’s been a
remarkable trip, taking in five countries and eight games.
Recap:
7th September: Zilina vs Dukla Trencin 1:2
8th September Slovan Bratislava vs Dinamo Riga 2:3 (PS)
9th September: Vienna Capitals vs SAPA Fehervar 3:1
10th September: Lev Praha vs Donbass Donetsk 1:0
14th September: HC Davos vs EHC Kloten Flyers 2:3 (PS)
15th September: EHC Kloten Flyers vs ZSC Lions 3:4
16th September: EHC Red Bull Munich vs Dusseldorf 2:3 (OT)
17th September: HC Slovan Bratislava vs SKA St. Petersburg 4:2
Only one game saw a victory for the team that I wanted to win, and I was incredibly disappointed that my white glove watch turned out to be really quite in vain, however, I got introduced to the world of Swiss hockey, which I loved when standing with the Davos fans in the Ostkurve, whilst I was also acquainted with the worst hockey fanbase I’ve discovered so far in the EHC Munich fans. I got into half of the games for free, and saw some remarkable goals, from Tony Romano’s strike for Vienna, to Walser scoring a brilliant goal for Kloten to tie their game in Davos. I saw countless NHL players, and numerous young prospects for the future, and it’s safe to say that it was a brilliant two weeks on the rails. Just a shame that the travel was so wearing.
7th September: Zilina vs Dukla Trencin 1:2
8th September Slovan Bratislava vs Dinamo Riga 2:3 (PS)
9th September: Vienna Capitals vs SAPA Fehervar 3:1
10th September: Lev Praha vs Donbass Donetsk 1:0
14th September: HC Davos vs EHC Kloten Flyers 2:3 (PS)
15th September: EHC Kloten Flyers vs ZSC Lions 3:4
16th September: EHC Red Bull Munich vs Dusseldorf 2:3 (OT)
17th September: HC Slovan Bratislava vs SKA St. Petersburg 4:2
Only one game saw a victory for the team that I wanted to win, and I was incredibly disappointed that my white glove watch turned out to be really quite in vain, however, I got introduced to the world of Swiss hockey, which I loved when standing with the Davos fans in the Ostkurve, whilst I was also acquainted with the worst hockey fanbase I’ve discovered so far in the EHC Munich fans. I got into half of the games for free, and saw some remarkable goals, from Tony Romano’s strike for Vienna, to Walser scoring a brilliant goal for Kloten to tie their game in Davos. I saw countless NHL players, and numerous young prospects for the future, and it’s safe to say that it was a brilliant two weeks on the rails. Just a shame that the travel was so wearing.
I’ll post the pictures link on here when I’ve uploaded them
to Flickr, but that’s all for now for this blog. Be sure to check my main blog,
www.velvethockey.blogspot.com
during the season, which will have all your Czech and Slovak hockey news,
especially as the NHLers begin to flock to the Extraliga.
Thanks for reading.
J.
EDIT: Pictures can be viewed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39311233@N03/sets/72157631568380069/
Thanks for reading.
J.
EDIT: Pictures can be viewed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39311233@N03/sets/72157631568380069/
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