Coach changes (didn’t) help: Hořava lost his cool in Sparta. Comets down, but…
Everywhere they went forward, only on the Comet they switched into reverse. We are talking about the success of coaching changes during the extra-league season. They improved practically everywhere, by far the most at Sparta, where the arrival of Miloslav Hořavy and his Swedish partner Hans Wallson brought an astonishing success rate of 86 percent. But be careful, every case is different and specific. This is especially true for Kometa, which is the only one that remains in the red after the dismissal of Martin Pešout, but in the last rounds it starts to gain ground. How did the exchanges work?
Success On foot, Horáček pair: 47%
– 8th place, 38 out of 811 points, points 68:78
(change of coaches on December 12)
Success trio P. Martinec, Modrý, Horáček: 38%
– 9th place, 18 out of 488 points, 42:55 points
The slide after the dismissal of Martin Pešout was astonishing. No impulse after changing everyone, Kometa experienced weeks that the club chronicler would prefer to erase. The fall to the thirteenth place came, and with it the fear of a humiliating slide even lower. On the other hand, a lot can be extracted from such a strange vintage. The last three rounds played show that Kometa is not dead and will try again. The patient gradually wakes up, slowly begins to breathe on his own. Apparently, the new coach could finally explain to the team where she could lead the way. Of course, an excellent form of special teams defense is a must. Both are a matter of life and death for Brno, as his five-on-five game is only average.
SETTING: Kometa Brno – Liberec 3:0. The home team reigned supreme in power plays and are taking their third win in a row
Success trio Modrý, Cermák, Fousek: 38%
– 13th place, 33 out of 87 points, score 68:83
(change of coaches on December 24)
Success trio Cermák, Fousek, Novotný: 43%
– 13th place, 18 out of 42 points, score 72:78
This caper didn’t taste good, just the bone. Jaroslav Modrý received an unusual gift under the Christmas tree from his superiors when Motor’s management stopped believing that progress would really come under the bronze coach. The team took a deep breath, but then went back to the old performance. Especially outside, where it’s one big misery. A five percent improvement is nothing. Pech’s squad, especially at home, cannot deny their combativeness, but Motor needs all four formations to do their part. Which comes out less often than everyone in the south would like. This team is kept afloat by veterans, whose performance almost no one pressures. The future of Budějovice in the extra league is a very hot topic.
FIGHT: České Budějovice – Mladá Boleslav 5:4b. Hanzl directed the great turnaround of the Motor
Success Chihák, Haken pairs: 40%
– 12th place, 40 out of 99 points, score 63:79
(change of coaches 4.1.)
Success trio Kalous, Haken, Pletka: 50%
– 11th place, 15 out of 30 points, score 31:28
In Mladá Boleslav, it was never so bad that the players turned green in the form of the club colors. No, it’s not about falling on the crossbar, but even in Viničná Street they have already experienced many sleepless nights. After one, they fired Ladislav Čihák, who they originally hired with the idea of working for many years. It cannot be said that the risk was not worth it. The skaters’ game is fresher under Jiří Kalous, the offensive troubles have disappeared, which was also helped by the solid success of trades and the arrival of new acquisitions. The new coaching staff has scored points in eight of the ten games, but until now the Bruslars have to read the pointlessly lost Friday game in Budějovice. Being ninth or eleventh makes a hell of a difference.
SETTING: Mladá Boleslav – Třinec 1:0. The scoreless state was broken 74 seconds before the end by Söderlund
Success trio Růžička, Mlejnek, Branda: 21%
– 14th place, 9 out of 422 points, 32:48 points
(change of coaches on 10/25)
Success trio Mlejnek, Reichel, Kočí: 48%
– 12th place, 42 out of 87 points, score 83:76
They started very badly. Unnecessarily lost games, sudden collapses, hard-to-explain mistakes and it arrived in front of Hlinkov Stadium already during October. The coaching change quickly helped, Růžiček’s assistant Karel Mlejnek prescribed a style of play that is closer to the Ore Mountains. On the other hand, you can still find quite a lot of dead spots, and so it is true that this whole is quite unpredictable. You never know… The potential lies dormant in him, once in a while it erupts into the clouds like during the 8:1 massacre at Hané. But they are stable high level games have serious difficulties. The Black and Yellows absolutely need goalkeeper Šimon Zajíček to have an excellent season. With this support, they should advance to the preliminary round.
SESTŘIH: Vítkovice – Litvínov 2:3sn. Verva completed the turnover in Gut’s 13th streak
Success couple Říha, Baďouček: 0%
– 12th place, 0 out of 6 points, score 3:6
(change of coaches on September 19)
Success Kořínek, pair of Bombics: 52%
– 7th place, 64 out of 123 points, score 110:109
Unlike the others, they basically only started the season after the second round, when Miloš Říha and Václav Baďouček were kicked out of the club. The boss Martin Straka installed the Pilsen patriot Petr Kořínek to the team, so that he would later appear on the substitutes’ bench himself. The mix of invaluable player and coaching experience has made the fighting and self-sacrificing team one of the best that the extra league has to offer. And why don’t I say it directly: where it shouldn’t be, given the amount of the budget. The Indians have a well-rounded and cohesive playoff team that they are going to rightfully screw up. With a bit of luck and maintaining the warrior mode, maybe even make it to the semis. They have the weapons to do so.
SESTŘIH: Pilsen – Sparta Prague 4:3sn. Houdek ended the visitors’ winning streak in raids
Success Patera, P. Martinec pair: 33%
– 12th place, 21 out of 54 points, score 44:54
(recall of coaches on 11/5, new ones on 11/18)
Success Horava, Wallson pair: 86%
– 3rd place, 54 out of 633 points, 69:33 points
A bite that was too big for Pavel Patera in Sparta brought a November parachute for him and Patrik Martinec. The red team did not like the sight of hockey played by former excellent forwards and was overtly glad for the return of Miloslav Hořavý. He immediately vented in the cabin and adjusted the excellently put together team to a form in which it should seriously threaten Pardubice in the fight for the title. The vast majority of players often bring one hundred percent of their talent and potential to the stage, resulting in a giant jump from the twelfth to the third figure. Plus let’s not forget the superbly played Spengler Cup in Davos. This Sparta has power, like it hasn’t in a long time. Purely hockey, but mainly indoor.
HIT: Sparta Prague – Mladá Boleslav 4:1. The ride continues, the biggest hit