2024-03-08 19:02:02
The series of preliminary rounds of the playoffs in the hockey first league were really intense, especially their second games. In the duel between Jihlava and Slavia, there was a disgusting intervention by the captain of the guests, Tomáš Knotek, followed by an attack on the Prague substitute by the Jihlava fans. In Přerov, the judges handed out 130 penalty minutes.
In both series, which are played only for two winning matches in the first round of the first league, after the first matches, the lower-ranked teams that started at home, i.e. Prague’s Slavia and Pardubice “B”, were leading.
The move to the ice of Jihlava and Přerov then triggered emotions that were overshot in places.
On Wednesday, Jihlava led in the second match over Slavia 7:2 in the last minute, when the visiting captain Knotek dangerously shot down the local youngster Jonáš Jungwirth. “This was murder,” the commentator of the live broadcast was clear.
While Jungwirth was writhing in pain and holding his knee, a melee immediately erupted on the ice, during which the Jihlava players wanted to avenge a senseless intervention for a long-decided situation.
In Pelhřimov, where Jihlava temporarily plays home matches, fans attacked the Slavist substitute. An object thrown from the stands caused bloody injuries to Slavia’s assistant coach Daniel Tvrzník.
Prague head coach Aleš Totter called the team to the dressing room, and later only a handful of players returned to play the final tens of seconds.
“The result is beautiful, but the end is the highlight of the whole match,” reported Jihlava assistant coach Karel Nekvasil. “We’ll see how the disciplinarian reacts to Knotko’s foul, but also if the winterizer closes. It’s impossible for the coach to get bloody injured,” Totter responded.
Thursday’s decisive duel was played without Knotek and with a closed stand behind the substitutes. Jihlava managed it 3:0 and, just like last year, eliminated Slavia in the preliminary round.
Knotek came up with an apology at least on the X social network. “Congratulations to Jihlava for advancing. Those who know me know that I try to stay away from things other than finishing someone off like this badly. It was a meaningless fight in which I was late and I didn’t stop my foot anymore,” he wrote.
He apologized to Jungwirth by phone. “Unfortunately, I won’t return it and I hope it will be fine as soon as possible. Such interventions do not belong in hockey,” added the captain of Slavia and the owner of 453 extra league starts.
Přerov’s second series with Pardubice “B” was also tough, as they were the last team to enter the preliminary round. The team playing in Chrudim won 4:0 at home and in Moravia felt a chance for a surprising advance to the quarterfinals.
After the final siren of Wednesday’s game, in which Přerov won 3:2, there was a mass fight. After that, the referees immediately handed out 100 penalty minutes. In total, there were 130 in the match.
The well-known provocateur from Pardubice, Daniel Rákos, was not missing in the brawl, in which Tomáš Kudělka got involved. Daniel Indrák from Přerov and Jakub Lichtag from Pardubice also received higher sentences. Here, however, everything remained within the limits of sports fighting.
On Thursday, Přerov calmed down and did not offer the opponent a single power play. He won again 3:2 and advanced to the quarterfinals.
“If there was a noise microphone on the substitute, it would be heard that I alerted the players about one hundred and fifty times,” assessed Přerov’s coach Michal Mikeska. “In three months, we got out of the problems that were here. I’m terribly proud of the boys,” added former striker Pardubic.
In the quarter-finals, Přerov faces a fierce battle against Vsetín, which is the Zubry’s main regional rival. Jihlava meets the sovereign champion of the regular part of Porub.
The other two pairs are Prostějov and Zlín and Litoměřice and Třebíčí. In the quarterfinals, individual series are already played for three winning games. They will all start already on Saturday.