“We’ll try again today and it’s definitely not over for us. It was unfortunate and we don’t want that to happen again,” said Maroš. The match between the Czech Republic and Sweden (1: 4) was interrupted by the referees in the second period due to a crack in the guardrail, where part of the track was interrupted. “It could have been caused by the flexible guardrails, which are new to the stadium since this season. I asked Mr. (General Director of Motor České Budějovice Stanislav) Bednařík for information and he said it could have been caused by the collision with the guardrail, when a piece of ice broke, “said Maroš.
The problem may also have arisen because the Czech Ice Hockey Association placed advertisements on the surface and, for this reason, new ice had to be created just before the game. “And that could have caused a worse quality,” said Tomáš Novák, director of sports facilities in the city of České Budějovice.
Due to the technical issue, there was a threat of premature game termination with regards to player safety. Eventually, the referees allowed the game to continue. Czech national team coach Kari Jalonen welcomed the judges’ decision. Although he noticed after the game that the quality of the ice in general was not the best. “It was very hot in the room. It just happens, that’s life,” Jalonen said. According to Novák, the conditions at the stadium were the same as in a standard extra league match for České Budějovice.
