HC Košice’s Challenging Start in the Champions League: Two Games, Zero Points

“It’s great to play against such players. I had the honor in the past, so I knew very well who I was up against. You have to be a step more careful,” said the best player from Košice, Mário Lunter.

Two games, zero points. The hockey players of HC Košice did not surprise any of the favored Swiss teams at the start of the current season of the Champions League.

On Thursday, they lost on the ice of the vice-champion EHC Biel-Bienne 1:3, they conceded the last goal in the final game without a goalkeeper.

The people of Košice were not far from the point gain even two days later. They kept pace with Servette Geneva on home ice, the reigning Swiss champion decided on the narrowest win 3:2 in the third period.

news-item-description">The hockey players of HC Košice lost in the home match of the Champions League against the Swiss team Servette Geneva 2:3. Even after the second meeting in the regular season, they are without a point. The goals of the Slovak champions were scored by Filip Krivošík and Mário Lunter. The Košice team will next appear in the LM on Friday, September 8, on the ice of the German champion Red Bull Munich.

One shot and they could score

“I think we deserved to score, we were a more than equal opponent to Geneva in some passages of the game. Especially in the first period, when we ran out on them. We can be satisfied with the performance,” said Filip Krivošík, the author of Košice’s opening goal in Saturday’s home game.

The Steelers took the lead for the first time in this year’s edition of the Champions League, but their joy was short-lived. The guests turned the score around in less than four minutes, and it was on fire several times in front of the goalkeeper Riečicky. The tenacious home team did not give up, at the end of the 2nd period, Mário Lunter tied the game at 2:2.

“Details are decisive in big-time hockey. We were one goal short, but one good shot and that would be it. If we play like this, we have nothing to be ashamed of.” Lunter claimed.

Participant of three world championships, including this year’s, which took place in Finland and Latvia, joined the cabin of the Slovak champion after three and a half years of work in Mladá Boleslav. In the meeting against Servette, he was declared the best player of the match from the home side.

“I spend more time on the ice and every player plays better when they are more involved in the game. I thank the coaches and teammates, we are doing well together,” praises Lunter.

Krivošík, another member of the first Košice attack, had the same score of 1+1 in the duel. “I like how we play, we complement each other quite well. So far, great satisfaction, not only from my side. We all played well today. Unfortunately, we conceded three unlucky goals and that affected the game.” you sighed.

Cadre of Geneva? Absolute elite

HC Košice sports manager Gabriel Spilar named Servette Geneva shortly before the start of the Champions League as one of the two best European teams today. In addition to legionnaires from Canada and Sweden, the squad includes prominent Finnish aces such as Sakari Manninen, Teemu Hartikaninen, and Sami Vatanen.

The 39-year-old Valtteri Fillpula, the captain of last year’s Olympic champions and world champions, a member of the prestigious Triple Gold Club, plays the absolute leader in the team, which was driven forward by about seven dozen fans in Košice. He has more than 1,200 games in the NHL, including the playoffs, and enjoyed winning the Stanley Cup with Detroit.

“It’s great to play against such players. I had the honor in the past, so I knew very well who I was up against. You have to be a step more careful,” Lunter admitted.

news-item-description">It’s coming. The reigning Slovak hockey champion has an extremely challenging start to the new season. In the beginning of the current season of the Champions League, the people from Košice will encounter the absolute top of the Swiss league. On Thursday, the vice-champion EHC Biel-Bienne will appear on the ice, two days later they will welcome the champion Servette Geneva.

Compared to the Slovak extra league, this is a higher level not only in terms of speed, but also in terms of patience.

“The opponents have mature players who worked in the NHL and at the Olympics. However, they are not from space, they are also human like us. We played an even match and showed that you can play with anyone. He just wants to score one more goal than the opponent,” noted Krivošík.

Will they stop the Slovak droughts?

The Champions League program continues in quick succession. In the following week, Košice will travel to other extremely demanding opponents. On Friday, September 8, they will appear on the ice of the German champion Red Bull Munich, two days later they will face their third opponent from Switzerland – Rapperswil.

“Some of us were not completely fit and we also had a lot of travel, we traveled 14 hours from Biel. After the match with Servette, we had a ‘strengthening’ for our legs, we need to recover well and from Monday we will prepare for the next matches,” Krivošík zoomed in.

The Slovak team has been waiting for a point gain in the Champions League for quite a long time. Slovan Bratislava came out empty-handed in the previous two seasons, the year before that they did not play due to the pandemic. The last team to do so was Banská Bystrica in the 2019/20 season. Marek Bartánus, Patrik Lamper, Finn Joona Jääskeläinen and Mário Lunter from the current Košice squad wore her jersey at the time.

The Slovak team has been waiting for a point gain in the Champions League for quite a long time. Source: TASR

“We go into every match with the intention of scoring points. We will put the loss against Geneva behind us, even if we regret it, and in the next match we will try to steal at least a point.” Lunter declared.

Ceman: I am satisfied with the performance

“For the fact that it is only the beginning of September, it was an excellent and fast match from both sides, which was full of emotions. Already in the morning, I felt that the boys had enough energy, and the audience also gave it to them.” HC Košice coach Dan Ceman praised the performance of his team and the atmosphere in the hall.

Over 4,000 spectators watched the opening match of this season in the Steel Arena.

“We played well in the first period, in the second it turned around and the opponent was able to create pressure in our zone. The third conceded goal was quite unfortunate, we couldn’t answer it. I am proud of our team, how they managed to fight against an excellent opponent,” said Ceman.

Two losses at the start of the Champions League, understandably, do not make him happy.

“We were unlucky today, just like Geneva in their first game in Innsbruck. Sometimes you play very well and lose, other times you play not so well but win. With a bit of luck, it could have been different. We deserved some points. I am satisfied with our performance against one of the best teams in Europe,” stated the Košice coach.

2023-09-03 06:54:00
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