HC Pilsen – Zlín 4:2 (end)
final
HC Pilsen
4:2 (0:1, 1:0, 3:1)
Berani Zlín
Sunday 25.11.2012, 14:00 • CEZ Arena, Plzen • Tipsport extraliga (CZE)
     
    The third period belonged to the home team, which scored three times. Milan Gulas scored twice, one goal was then added by a Plzen captain, Martin Straka. The visitors only managed to pull one down, thanks to Zdenek Okal, who found a puck under Mazanec and sent it into the net with a rebound. However, that was the last goal of the match, so the home team took all three points. (16:26:42)
     
    60:00
    Game over.
     
    59:54
    Marusak's hard slap shot hit the side net of Sedlacek's goal.
     
    58:50
    Kovar did an excellent job in the offensive zone, since he stood strong against three hits from the visitors and even sent his captain into a scoring chance. However, Straka hit Sedlacek.
     
    58:11
    Face-off in front of Mazanec.
     
    57:36
    Zlin tries to get into the zone to score the third one.
     
    56:06
    Goal for Zlin!
    The visitors pull one down with an agressive finish by ZDENEK OKAL, who tapped the puck in after Melenovsky's shot. 4:2! Assists: Marek Melenovsky, Martin Matejicek.
     
    55:30
    Both teams are playing at full strength.
     
    54:45
    Tesarik released a slap shot from the circles, but Mazanec stood well and caught the puck on his chest.
     
    53:40
    Goal for Plzen! Fourth goal of the home team probably secured the win. MARTIN STRAKA got a nice crossing pass from Gulas and put it into the net with a hard and accurate one-timer. 4:1! Assist: Gulas.
     
    53:30
    Filip Cech (ZLN) and Nicholas Johnson (PLZ) obtained 2 minutes each for a mutual small fight.
     
    52:45
    Good work by Jerabek in defense. However, the visitors stay on puck.
     
    51:30
    Kratena's shot was stopped by Sedlacek, who had a little trouble catching the puck. However, he had a lot of time.
     
    50:28
    Goal for Plzen! Plzen took a two-goal lead, when MILAN GULAS escaped the defenders on the right side and sent the puck towards the goal. Martin Straka was skating right in front of Sedlacek, who saw nothing and let the puck in. 3:1! Assists: Tomas Vlasak, Jiri Marusak.
     
    49:56
    Another puck is heading behind the visiting goal as the Indians now focus on defense.
     
    48:49
    Johnson went alone against Honejsek, who managed to push him away and stopped him on boards.
     
    47:38
    Another save by Mazanec, who's doing a great job today.
     
    45:55
    Time-out for the home team.
     
    46:59
    Balej found Kovar with his pass behind the goal, but Sedlacek was well prepared and stopped the one-timer, that followed.
     
    45:55
    Mazanec wasn't able to hold the slap shot from the blueline, but he at least managed to stop it on its way towards the net.
     
    45:35
    Visiting team at full strength.
     
    45:25
    Great defensive job from St. Pierre, who blocked away Linhart's attempt.
     
    44:40
    Huge scoring chance for Kratena, who appeared alone in front of Sedlacek and had plenty of time for a finish. However, he just put the puck into Sedlacek's glove.
     
    44:16
    Balej lost his balance and visitors cleared the zone.
     
    43:35
    Filip Cech (ZLN) got a minor penalty for hooking.
     
    43:16
    Sedlacek covered the puck after a long shot.
     
    43:06
    Tesarik's slap shot stopped by Mazanec.
     
    42:15
    Goal for Plzen! MILAN GULAS got in front of Sedlacek and completed a turnover with a precise backhanded finish. 2:1! Assists: Tomas Vlasak, Martin Straka.
     
    41:51
    Sedlacek rather covered the puck in front of some forechecking forwards.
     
    41:30
    Visiting team at full strength.
     
    40:46
    Marusak's shot saved by Sedlacek's pads. Plzen's playing a powerplay at the moment.
     
    40:01
    3rd period began.
     
    Plzen managed to equalize thanks to a good offensive work of Balej. His effort brought a goal as Tesarik didn't manage to get him out of the crease. Both sides had a chance to take the lead, but none of them succeeded, so we're going to the final period with an even score 1:1. Both teams will also start with four men on ice.
     
    40:00
    2nd period finished.
     
    39:30
    Petr Leska (ZLN) got a minor penalty for interference. The game will continue 4 on 4.
     
    39:26
    Nice save by Mazanec again. Face-off in the Plzen zone.
     
    38:46
    Honejsek got into the zone with some nice moves on puck, but his shot didn't even hit the target.
     
    38:17
    After a pressure of the home team, there comes a powerplay for visitors. Michal Dvorak (PLZ) was sent out for slashing.
     
    37:26
    Gulas slipped trough on the left side. His shot ended in Sedlacek's glove.
     
    36:23
    Kovar found Balej with an excellent pass behind the defense of Zlin. However, Balej wasn't able to control the puck.
     
    36:00
    Köhler's shot was blocked into the safety net above Mazanec. Another face-off.
     
    35:57
    Bad passing play of the home team resulted in another icing.
     
    35:36
    Another interesting situation in front of Sedlacek, who covered the puck in the end.
     
    33:38
    Goal for Plzen! JOZEF BALEJ scored an equalizer with an agressive finish! The referees had to call for advice, but in the end, the allowed the goal. Sedlacek did all he could to keep the puck in the game, but apparently, he wasn't successful. 1:1! Assists: Jan Kovar, Ondrej Kratena.
     
    33:38
    Balej got into the crease and tried to push the puck behind the goal line with a goalie. The referees will have to call for help.
     
    32:51
    Okal tried his luck right after winning the face-off. Mazanec managed to stop his effort.
     
    32:47
    Another icing of Plzen.
     
    32:20
    St. Pierre managed to block away Slahar's snap shot.
     
    31:39
    Icing of the home team.
     
    31:26
    Urbanec's shot saved by Mazanec.
     
    30:16
    Mazanec made an important save against Leska's deke.
     
    29:55
    Frolo's shot was deflected just in front of Sedlacek. Luckily for him, out of the goal.
     
    28:45
    Home team at full strength.
     
    28:36
    Balastik missed the target at the end of a 2-on-1 situation.
     
    27:54
    Leska's effort from the right side was blocked away by Mazanec.
     
    27:23
    Dvorak clears the zone.
     
    26:45
    Vaclav Pletka (PLZ) will serve a minor penalty for too many players on ice.
     
    26:35
    Melenovsky found the gap between Mazanec's legs, but still missed the goal.
     
    25:56
    Another icing of the visitors, as they can't get out of their zone for a while.
     
    25:28
    Icing of Zlin followed with a face-off in their defensive zone.
     
    24:40
    Nice combination between Kovar and Kratena. However, there was another great save by Sedlacek in the end of the whole attack.
     
    23:53
    Hollweg could show the crowd also his shooting skills, but missed the puck with a one-timer between the circles.
     
    22:45
    Bad deflection of Straka's skates moved the puck on the Linhart's stick. The visitors went into a breakaway, but Melenovsky's finnish was stopped by Mazanec.
     
    21:23
    Marusak's slap shot was stopped by Sedlacek. Kovar then tried to tap it in, but hit the post!
     
    20:53
    Kratena crossed the blue line and returned back on the defenders.
     
    20:31
    2 minutes for Tomas Linhart (ZLN) – high sticking. Another opportunity for Plzen to equalize.
     
    20:01
    2nd period began.
     
    First period ends with a narrow lead for the visitors since the only goal scorer so far is Jaroslav Balastik. However, Plzen had more opportunities to break the deadlock. Especially in the powerplay, where Gulas appeared with a puck on stick in front of an open goal. Thanks to a great defensive work of Zlin's defenders, Sedlacek still holds the clean sheet.
     
    20:00
    1st period finished.
     
    19:45
    Matejicek proved his hard shot once again. Thanks for the home team, he didn't hit the target.
     
    19:05
    Vesely's shot was blocked away.
     
    18:35
    Face-off in the neutral zone.
     
    18:09
    Icing moves the game back next to Sedlacek.
     
    17:37
    Vlasak had a chance as he found the puck among a group of players just in front of Sedlacek. However, his shot wasn't accurate enough to beat the Zlin goaltender.
     
    17:02
    Matejicek tried his luck from the neutral zone, but Mazanec has seen his hard slap shot for the whole time and though he didn't have a problem with catching the puck.
     
    16:27
    Another save for Sedlacek. This time against Kasparik's snap shot.
     
    15:35
    Zlin can't get into the zone. Not even the elite formation.
     
    14:49
    Gulas shooted just as he crossed the blueline, but hit only Sedlacek's chest.
     
    14:31
    Another save for Sedlacek. The game will continue with a face-off by his right hand.
     
    14:10
    Balej showed some skills in the offensive zone right now. He also tried to surprise Sedlacek with a quick wirst shot from the circles.
     
    13:13
    Vlasak poked the puck in front of Sedlacek, but his attempt didn't find a way into the goal.
     
    13:00
    Vlasak found Straka with a nice back pass, but the Plzen captain wasn't as successful with his finish. His shot ended in Sedlacek's glove.
     
    11:43
    Goal for Zlin!
    Wonderful combination between the first line of Zlin ends with first goal of the match. Leska's pass from behind the goal was sent in with a powerful one timer by JAROSLAV BALASTIK. 0:1! Assistance: Petr Leska, Bedrich Köhler.
     
    11:18
    Visiting team at full strength.
     
    10:52
    Zlin finally clears the zone and sends some fresh players on ice.
     
    10:29
    Another chance for the home team as they created a pressure.
     
    10:05
    Kovar missed Kratena's pass in front of an open goal!
     
    09:29
    Marusak's shot went wide.
     
    09:18
    Bedrich Köhler (ZLN) got a minor penalty for holding. First powerplay for the home team.
     
    09:07
    Leska's pass forward wasn't accurate and the indians go to counter-attack.
     
    07:59
    Zlin just threw the puck away to change.
     
    07:18
    Sedlacek covers the puck after a long distance shot from the neutral zone.
     
    06:06
    Indians managed to get out of their zone for a while, but Zlin returned immediately.
     
    05:24
    Misunderstanding between Kubis and Slahar saved the home side from a difficult situation in front of Mazanec.
     
    03:58
    Great opportunity for Plzen! Milan Gulas appeared alone in front of an open goal. However, in the last possible second, some of the Zlin defenders managed to block his stick and sent the puck away.
     
    03:08
    Great forechecking of the home team in the offensive zone brought success.
     
    02:29
    Marusak's long pass resulted into first icing.
     
    01:27
    Cajanek's back pass was taken by Plzen defenders.
     
    00:52
    Vesely's deflection just before Mazanec wasn't accurate enough to find the way behind him.
     
    00:18
    Gulas's early attempt stopped by Sedlacek's right pad.
     
    00:01
    Game started.
     
    Starting lineups:

    HC Skoda Plzen: Mazanec – Frolo, Jerabek, St. Pierre, Lev, Marusak, Ruzicka, Mozik, Bohac, Balej, Kratena, Vlasak, Straka, Kasparik, Kovar, Hollweg, Dvorak, Havlicek, Gulas, Johnson, Pletka

    PSG Zlin: Sedlacek – Tesarik, Reznicek, Matejicek, Urbanec, Linhart, Senkerik, Hamrlik, Horak, Köhler, Cech, Cajanek, Leska, Kubis, Honejsek, Slahar, Melenovsky, Holik, Vesely, Okal, Balastik

    Referees: Pesina, Sindler – Pouzar, Badal.
     
    The most successful forwards of the visitors are Cajanek and Honejsek, who both have 17 points so far. Cajanek for 8 goals and 9 assists, younger Honejsek is also a top scorer of Zlin with 9 goals and 8 assists.

    The captain of Zlin Petr Cajanek has also collected most penalty minutes, specifically 45.

    In the home team, the most productive player is also the best one in assists, Tomas Vlasak with 11+24 statistics. The top scorer of the Indians is with 14 precise shots, Milan Gulas.

    There can't be any hesitation about an evil man in Plzen. Ryan Hollweg has already spent 97 minutes in penalty box.
     
    Indians from Plzen had to say good bye to their Finnish goalie star, Tuukka Rask, who decided to return overseas before the NHL starts. However, if the league won't start in the next weeks, he'll might come back. For today, Marek Mazanec should be defending the home team net.

    On the other side, there are two quite equal goaltenders, Horcicka and Sedlacek, who have both their save percentage over 92.
     
    Another clash for the first place in the league table is waiting for the fans in Plzen. This time, Skoda will face PSG Zlin during the matches of 25th round. The visitors are best team while playing away from home, which secured them 2nd place for now, just one behind the leader from Plzen.
     
    Welcome. Game starts at 14:00.
    Commentary by

    Marek Kratochvíl

    CZ@marekratochvil

    Goals & lineups Match log
    Goals and assists: 34. Balej (Kovar, Kratena), 43. Gulas (Vlasak, Straka), 51. Gulas (Vlasak, Marusak), 54. Straka (Gulas) - 12. Balastik (Leska, Köhler), 57. Okal (Melenovsky, Matejicek)

    HC Pilsen: Mazanec – Frolo, Jerabek, St. Pierre, Lev, Marusak, Ruzicka, Mozik, Bohac, Balej, Kratena, Vlasak, Straka, Kasparik, Kovar, Hollweg, Dvorak, Havlicek, Gulas, Johnson, Pletka
    Berani Zlín: Sedlacek – Tesarik, Reznicek, Matejicek, Urbanec, Linhart, Senkerik, Hamrlik, Horak, Köhler, Cech, Cajanek, Leska, Kubis, Honejsek, Slahar, Melenovsky, Holik, Vesely, Okal, Balastik
    Referees: Pesina, Sindler – Pouzar, Badal