“That’s the way it is, and we’re not going to do anything about it now. But I would prefer if it was played every day, as it is now everywhere in the world. It would be better for all participating teams in the playoffs,” said Hořava immediately after the first quarterfinal match with Třinec.
He and his counterpart Zdenek Moták immediately started a discussion about the advantages and pitfalls of the ‘match-free-match’ system. “On Sunday, Sparta started at two in the afternoon, which is cool. If we were returning home after him, we would arrive around midnight and sleep would not be a problem,” Moták said.
The problem is that such an early start of the match is an exception in the elimination battles. It usually starts at 17 or 19 hours. “And playing from seven would be a problem with the mentioned format. You arrive in Třinec from Prague the next morning, you haven’t slept and you’re already handicapped. Transporting the team without sleep and preparing it for the match the next day is not easy,” points out the head of the Steelers’ substitution.
Photo: Roman Vondrouš, CTK
Coach Zdeněk Moták at the Třinec hockey players’ changing table.Photo: Roman Vondrouš, CTK
“However, the conditions would be the same for all teams. It always turns around during the series,” Hořava reminds us that in Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, home matches are regularly alternated with away matches.
He also does not like the two-week break before the quarter-finals for the teams that avoided the preliminary round. “That’s an awfully long time. It is disadvantageous, game practice is logically missing after returning to matches. A week off would be just right for me,” says Hořava.
