Two minutes.
That’s all it took for Bobby Farnham to lift the roof off a crackling SSE Arena against Liberec.
The second period took a wee bit longer.
Organised chaos. Like something from Slapshot, if you asked the Bílí Tygři coach.
I don’t remember seeing Curtis Hamilton’s world class snipe in Slapshot mind.
Winning that first Champions Hockey League game.
Two nights later, the Augsburg fan march, the bare chests, Belfast leading 2-1.
The equaliser. Matt Fraser’s overtime “light’s out” celebration.
Topping the group after two games.
The fixture in Liberec… was fulfilled. They didn’t underestimate us a second time.
The atmosphere in Augsburg and coming so close to taking more points.
The growing belief during the comeback attempt against Luleå. The reality check when they went up a gear.
The pride in taking on some of Europe’s finest.
Shall we do it all again?
HC Oceláři Třinec
First up, HC Oceláři Třinec. They enter the 2022/23 CHL on a wave of unprecedented success, having been crowned Tipsport Extraliga champions for the past three completed seasons. The Oceláři swept both HC Vítkovice and BK Mladá Boleslav four games to nil in the 2022 playoffs to reach a date with HC Sparta Praha in the final series, and duly dispatched the Spartans 4-2 to lift the Masaryk Cup.
Třinec have suffered mixed fortunes in pre-season, losing to Extraliga rivals Vítkovice and HC Olomouc but beating their affiliate team Frýdek-Místek and then the Slovak league and playoff double winners HC Slovan Bratislava in a prestigious champion vs. champion tilt.
Playing Style
Třinec like to be an aggressive pressing team at both ends of the ice.
They prefer to use their right wing as their stronger side of the ice for controlled breakouts. The right defenceman will hold the puck behind the net with his defensive partner providing support to his left. Two forwards swing down the right wing with the third forward providing a left wing outlet.
The third forward will quite often slide across to centre to support the right wing if his line-mates are struggling, or to leave space on the left wing for the left defenceman to join the rush. A variation on that theme will see Martin Marinčin bring the puck out to find an outlet pass, then swing from right to left to trail the left winger and give Třinec a four-man rush.
Třinec’s 2nd and 3rd lines both used two wingers playing on their off-wing when the team was fully fit in pre-season, the left-handed winger playing on the right wing and vice versa.
Once in the offensive zone Třinec like to use the space behind the net, where at least one but often two players work to make passes out to the slot or curl in front of goal if they get room. Both defencemen pinch into the zone aggressively to keep possession and the left defenceman in particular will switch with a forward and jump into the cycle.
If the puck is moved back to a defenceman at the point, they tend to pass the puck back behind the goal. When they do put the puck on net two forwards will be trying to drive to the slot, one to the crease and one higher out.
A notable set play they use on offensive zone face-offs is for Martin Růžička on the first line, Libor Hudáček (yep, that Libor Hudáček; we’ll get to him) on the second, and Aron Chmielewski on the third to line up at the top of the circle as a shot option off the draw. The board-side defenceman may also position themselves closer to the circle.
Both powerplay units use a 1-3-1 set-up with both wide players on their off-wing. They typically break with the defenceman carrying the puck and two drop-pass options.
When they lose the puck the Oceláři try to get a two-man forecheck working low in the zone. If they can only press with one forechecker, that player will look to angle the rush into a check from the strong-side forward, often from the right wing.
If no forecheck is possible, Třinec skate back with the rush into a 3-2 neutral zone set-up. From there the first forward will try to poke-check the puck-carrier, whilst the left wing may glide back into a 2-3 left wing lock on their blueline to match the opposition’s positioning.
Třinec mostly try to hold the blueline against the rush with poke-checks rather than taking the body. This might change when the real action starts, but they don’t have an overly physical defence.
Low in the defensive zone, they keep a 2-3 shape, with both defencemen given the green light to move to the boards early and swarm the puck behind the net. The two high wingers will drop fairly low in the zone to pressure a puck on the boards and will try to cut off passes to the blueline.
One notable defensive zone face-off trait; the winger on the inside of the circle will drive towards the boards on puck drop to either press a lost face-off or provide a strong-side outlet pass if they have gained possession.
Their penalty killers are aggressive with the two forwards rotating quickly on the forecheck, then moving back into a 1-1-2 in the neutral zone. They press their own side of the ice when the puck is high, and drop deep to the boards when the puck is moved low.
Notable Players
So yes, former Liberec standout Libor Hudáček. Hudáček netted four times against Belfast in 2019 and led the Bílí Tygři in the competition with eight points. He will pop up all over the ice and his shot remains dangerous, not least from the left circle on the powerplay.
The Slovak has found some pre-season chemistry centring Andrej Nestrašil and fellow Olympic bronze medalist Marko Daňo, who drops to the second line after playing with former Czech internationals Růžička and Petr Vrána last season.
A second newcomer to Třinec also has some history with Belfast. Karlis Čukste first sampled SSE ice when he suited up for the Quinnipiac Bobcats in the 2016 Friendship Four.
I am nearly certain Čukste must have studied the Hobbit in his time at Quinnipiac, because he tends to go on an adventure on most shifts, for better or worse. Expect to see the offensive defenceman turn up behind his opponent’s goal more regularly than you might otherwise expect.
Toronto Maple Leaf fans may take issue with this, but Martin Marinčin is Třinec’s top defenceman and can log big minutes alongside Milan Boudera. He can skate the puck out of trouble and drives play from the back for the Oceláři.
Marek Ročák is also one to keep an eye on. The promising seventeen-year old is making his debut this season and played in all four of Trinec’s pre-season games, scoring his first senior goal against Bratislava. He may or may not get many minutes in the CHL but despite looking green at times he hasn’t looked out of place either. Ročák was a part of the Czech team which finished fourth at the start of August in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, and is draft eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft.
Depth Chart
Roman 40 – Vrána 20 – Růžička 27
Nestrašil 94*** – Hudáček 79 – Daňo 56
Chmielewski 8 – Marcinko 65*** – Voženílek 96
Hrňa 88* – Lyszczarczyk 81 – Kurovský 43
Hrehorčák 19 – – Dravecký 22
– Svačina 9***
Doudera 52 – Marinčin 21
Čukste 7 – Adámek 55****
Zahradníček 13 – Jeřábek 5
Ročák 38****
Jaroměřský 47**
Zeleńák 18****
Mazanec 2
Kacetl 90
Daneček 32
PP 1st Unit, 1-3-1
Marcinko/Chmielewski
Růžička, Roman, Vrána
Doudera
PP 2nd Unit, 1-3-1
Voženielek
Hudáček, Daňo, Nestrašil
Marinčin
Jerabek and Čukste have also quarter-backed the 1st and 2nd PP units respectively.
Several top players only appeared in Třinec’s last two pre-season games, but the top two lines look to be settled.
The third and fourth lines have had a rotating cast of characters. New face Daniel Voženílek has largely played on the right wing but centred the third line against Bratislava with Tomáš Marcinko absent.
Netminders Marek Mazanec and Ondřej Kacetl played two pre-season games each, with either netminder capable of starting in Belfast.
* Fourth line left winger Erik Hrňa is unlikely to feature until later in the group with an upper body injury keeping him out of action for the next several weeks.
** Jan Jaroměřský is coming back from a number injuries suffered last season and hasn’t iced in pre-season.
Updated 09-09-22
*** Vladimír Svačina did not play in pre-season but has replaced the injured Andrej Nestrašil on the second line, swapping wings with Daňo, and has added three CHL assists to lead the team in the top scorer jersey so far. Tomáš Marcinko missed the first two CHL games but returned against Skellefteå.
**** To help with their injuries in defence, Vojtech Zeleńák has been drafted in from feeder team Frýdek-Místek for all three CHL games. Ročák continues to impress in his first senior starts, filling in for Adámek.
*****
So that’s just the Czech Extraliga champions then.
In part two I will look at Belfast’s first CHL visitors HC Davos, and how we’re going to keep that winning record against the Swiss team alive.
Further information sourced from:
(1) Elite Prospects
(2) HC Ocelari Trinec (including games)
(3) IIHF
(4) Champions Hockey League
FC Hockey Media 