Pardubice Win Again

Litvínov 1-2 Moeller Pardubice - Shoot Out Win
16. Hranáč (Benda) - 45. Snopek, 66. Pivko

Libor Pivko netted his 2nd shoot out winner in a matter of days to give Pardubice back to back victories for the first time this season. Litvínov had led the match up going into the third period of the game from a goal bagged by defenseman Jan Hranáč. Alexandr Hylák who had replaced Jan Lašák in the net for the match up back stopped the visitors back into the game. Pardubice levelled through a Jan Snopek effort after 45 minutes. The teams couldn't be seperated through the over-time period either so it was up to Pivko to do the business during the shoot out.

Last seasons beaten finalists have now moved up the league to sit in 11th place. 1 point ahead of Ústi nad Labem, Třinec and Kladno.

Extraliga Round 5

Plenty of goals in the Extraliga tonight...

RI OKNA Zlín 6-3 Litvínov - Zlín bounce back after a heavy defeat to dish out one of their own. The home-side were 4-0 up at one point before Litvínov finally broke through the Zlín D twice within a minute during the 3rd. They scored at 45:55 and 46:28 to put some doubt into the minds of the Zlín support. The Banana boys made sure of the points shortly afterwards though when Lubomír Vosátko bagged his 2nd of the night to really kill off the game. Radim Skuhrovec made the scoreline a little more respectable late on.

Vítkovice Steel 8-3 GEUS OKNA Kladno - Goals galore in Ostrava. The game was actually close after the 1st period. There was only a single goal in it at the time as Vitkovice went in to the break 3-2 up. The Steelers pulled further away in the 2nd adding another two goals before completely destroying Kladno in the 3rd with three more goals. Jiří Burger netted the 8th.

I'm going to run a Jiří Burger watch this season. In the Tipsport cup pre-season he scored 3+1 in 3 games played and so far in the Extraliga after 5 games played he is sitting at 1+1

Ústí nad Labem 2-6 Mountfield - C.B jumped to the top of the league after a convincing win over Ústí. The visitors shared the goals between six different players too. Mountfield could be an outside bet to win the competition this season. Their early season form proves they will be stiff competition for any of the other teams in the league.

Plzeň 4-3 Znojmo - SO - It's going to be another one of those consistantly inconsistant season for Znojmo. They lose game that most of their fans will feel they can and should win. Not having Jiří Trvaj between the nets has certainly hurt them so far this season but I expect better things from them once he is back between the pipes.

Slavia 5-2 Třinec - David Hruška bagged a hat-trick at the Sazka as Slavia put their loss to city rivals Sparta well and truely behind them. Adam Svoboda was solid in the nets too making 25 saves for the Praha club.

Liberec 1-4 Karlovy Vary - I knew Karlovy Vary were going to be good this season and tonights result away to Liberec really does show their new found confidence and strength. The club from east of them Czech Republic have a fantastic roster. Marek Melenovský, Jaroslav Kristek, Vítězslav BílekMilan Kraft, Petr Kumstát, Milan Procházka, Václav Skuhravý give them a good depth of forwards upfront and on the D they have the experience of Petr Mudroch and Miroslav Duben to protect new Czech international goalie Lukáš Mensator.I aslo like the big bottle of Becherovka on their home-page!

1. HC MOUNTFIELD 5 23:11 13
2. HC Energie Karlovy Vary 5 20:10 12
3. Bílí Tygři Liberec 5 13:8 11
4. HC Slavia Praha 5 20:15 10
5. RI OKNA Zlín 5 15:14 10
6. HC Vítkovice Steel 5 18:13 9

7. HC Sparta Praha 4 11:10 7
8. HC Lasselsberger Plzeň 5 18:18 7
9. HC Znojemští Orli 5 13:15 6
10. HC Litvínov 5 14:17 6

11. HC Oceláři Třinec 5 9:17 3
12. HC GEUS OKNA Kladno 5 12:21 3
13. HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi 5 10:20 3
14. HC Moeller Pardubice 4 11:18 2

The Capitals Hymn

It's about time some of the musicians that turn up to see the Capitals put together an Edinburgh Capitals hymn. A song that will unite the fans pre-game. So get to it talented music people, show us or should that be let us hear what you are made of.

In the mean time "Czech" out Pardubice's hymn that I have heard them play at the Cez Arena:

Oh and a huge thanks to the Capitals fan that brought me back a highlights DVD of last seasons Extraliga and playoffs. The DVD also features all the stats of every player that skated last season. I'm pretty sure the teams were giving it away free during the opening rounds of this season Extraliga.

I have a few extra copies of it, if you are interested in seeing what's on the DVD. Just post a comment and I will see about getting a copy to you.

4 Point Weekend

The Capitals put on a fantastic showing over the weekend to secure back to back victories over the much fancied Cardiff Devils. The 4 points will be staying at " Fortress Murrayfield " and we have the performances of the entire squad to thank for it. Everyone of them played their part. Their was no hiding from the puck at all, the whole squad wanted to play their part. Over the two games we played the better hockey, we stood up to the physical stuff and we ground out the wins. Our lower line players also deserve a mention and a huge thanks, our British kids have been a Revelation so far this season. We can count on them in every situation. That includes standing up to Brad Voth. Cardiff beat us six out of six times last season and previous Capitals teams before that would have crumbled under the pressure that was piled on during the Sunday night game but this Capitals team we have raised their game to the occasion. We battled away until the points were secured and safely in the bag. I've said it before but we certainly have a team to be extremely proud of this season. The weekend results over Cardiff will make the rest of the league stand up and take notice of what is going on a Murrayfield this year...

22/09/07 - Edinburgh Capitals 4-2 Cardiff Devils
23/09/07 - Edinburgh Capitals 3-2 Cardiff Devils

Extraliga Round 4

EXTRALIGA ROUND 4 RESULTS:

Třinec 2-3 Moeller Pardubice (SO) - Pardubice finally get their 1st win of the new campaign. They tried their hardest to throw it away though after leading 2-0 going into the 3rd period with goals from Michal Tvrdík and Tomáš Blažek they allowed Třinec to get back into the game. The home side forced the game into OT and then into the shoot out decider. Libor Pivko netted the winning shoot out goal for Pardubice.

Sparta 4-3 Slavia - The Evil Sparta Praha emerge victorious after the first Prague derby of the 07/08 season. After trading a single goal each in the opening stanza. Sparta went on to have a strong second period where they netted three times for no reply. That laid the platform for their victory.

Mountfield 6-1 RI OKNA Zlín - Zlín were destroyed in the 1st period. They gave up three goals within the opening 10 minutes of the game. Starting Zlín goalie Igor Murín was then pulled from the game having faced only 7 shots. That's what happens when you try to deny the brilliance of Mr. Viktor Hübl.

Ústí nad Labem 4-3 Plzeň (SO) - Ústí also grabbed their 1st victory of the campaign. The new comers have found the going very tough indeed but former MHC Martín forward Rastislav Špirko was the hero for the night after netting the winner during the shoot-out.

GEUS OKNA Kladno 0-1 Liberec - Kladno's new name manages to sucks more than the Capitals sponosorship named does this season. Jan Plodek opened and completed the nights scoring after 6 minutes of the game. Milan Hnilička had a perfect night between the Liberec pipes turning away 35 shots to capture the shut out. The victory sends Liberec to the top of the league.

Znojmo 1-2 Vítkovice Steel - Boozed up goalie Marek Pinc had a great night for Vítkovice. The pint sized super stoper turned away 39 shots to steal the game for the Ostrava side.

Karlovy Vary 3-1 Litvínov - K.V (my pick to be shock troops) continued their good start to the season. After 4 games played the green, black and yellow ugly jersey boys find themselves up to 3rd place in the league. K.V's squad looks really strong this year, they have good combination of youth and experience and I think it will take them far.

THE LEAGUE LADDER:

1.Bílí Tygři Liberec 4 12:4 11
2.HC MOUNTFIELD 4 17:9 10
3.HC Energie Karlovy Vary 4 16:9 9
4.HC Slavia Praha 4 15:13 7
5.HC Sparta Praha 4 11:10 7
6.RI OKNA Zlín 4 9:11 7

7.HC Litvínov 4 11:11 6
8.HC Vítkovice Steel 4 10:10 6
9.HC Lasselsberger Plzeň 4 14:15 5
10.HC Znojemští Orli 4 10:11 5

11.HC GEUS OKNA Kladno 4 9:13 3
12.HC Oceláři Třinec 4 7:12 3
13.HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi 4 8:14 3
14.HC Moeller Pardubice 4 11:18 2

Pump It Into Your Eyes!

BAM! Check to the Head has been visually updated.
Please enjoy our new look which now fits in nicely with the fanzine.

Please also enjoy the downloads section on the sidebar where you can download our tasty forum signatures or a sample of the first issue!

We hope to see you for this weekend's Cardiff double-header.

Remember Rob Trumbley

It's not during his time the with the Capitals but just enjoy how much go a goon and nut-case Rob Trumbley was out on the ice:

Trumbley's Edinburgh stats.
2001-02 Edinburgh Capitals BNL 28 13+14 =27 67 PiM

DIF Supporters

I hope the Djurgården fans are in that sort of form when Iam over there

Extraliga Round 2 Results

Vítkovice Stee; 1-2 Liberec
Sparta 4-2 Litvínov
Mountfield 3-1 Plzeň
Ústí nad Labem 1-2 Slavia
GEUS OKNA Kladno 1-4 RI OKNA Zlín
Znojmo 4-3 Moeller Pardubice
Karlovy Vary 1-0 Třinec - Shoot Out

Top 8 at the end of the season qualify for the playoffs, position 9-12 play a playoff qualifier.
No relegation from the Extraliga, position 13,14 miss out on the extra hockey come the end of the regular campaign.

1.Bílí Tygři Liberec 2 8:2 6
2. RI OKNA Zlín 2 6:2 6
3. HC Energie Karlovy Vary 2 8:2 5
4. HC Slavia Praha 2 6:4 5
5. HC MOUNTFIELD 2 6:5 4
6. HC Sparta Praha 2 5:4 3
7. HC Litvínov 2 6:6 3
8. HC Znojemští Orli 2 6:7 3

9. HC Lasselsberger Plzeň 2 6:7 2
10. HC GEUS OKNA Kladno 2 5:7 2
11. HC Oceláři Třinec 2 3:5 2
12. HC Vítkovice Steel 2 5:7 1

13. HC Moeller Pardubice 2 5:11 0
14. HC Slovan Ústečtí Lvi 2 2:8 0

A Look Ahead:

9/9/07 Phoenix vs Capitals

Manchester could well be our main rivals next season, if things go well we both have a good chance of making either the top 4th,5th,6th spot our own. On paper I think we have very similar squad standards so the games against them could be very closely fought affairs. They could be goalie battles. In Scott Fankhouser they have a very experience man between the pipes and we have a kid desperate to prove himself to the fans and the league.The Phoenix also look to have a very tough squad with Brett Clouthier and 6''3' former Dallas Star Jeff MacMillan taking up spots on their roster. I can't see us trying to slog it out with those Manchester players so we will need to have our thinking caps on and play a clean game, staying out the penalty box. We seem to have a very mobile squad, good skaters and if we can match that sort of skating strength with good passing we will be more than a match for the Phoenix home or away. We also know how Tony Hand operates his squads.

Capitals key-man: Doug Christiansen - can keep the squad disciplinedPhoenix key-man: Scott Fankhouser fromer NHL keeper vs former NHL forwards

Officials Strike Back...

Never mess with a hockey official...

You've been warned!....

Extraliga Returns

The new Czech Extraliga season begins today and if the off-season signings and pre-season tournament theTipsport cup are anything to go by we could be in for yet another extremely competitive season. The usual lots will be classed as the favourites though with Sparta, Pardubice, Slavia and Liberec all expected to do well. This year also sees the introduction of a new team to the league. Slovan Ústečtí Lvi will be taking part in their 1st ever Extraliga season.
Unfortunately the leagues governing body also saw it fit to kick out legendary extraliga side Vsetín from the league over the summer for financail troubles so the number of clubs taking part this year remains at a steady 14.

This year aswell, you will be able to catch highlights of nearly all the games and could well be able to view complete games possibly re-live at hokejzive.cz. The channel will also cover the Czech national team through out their EHT campaign. So keep an eye on that if you are interested.

The first fixture of the new season is:

Slavia vs Mountfield - Both clubs shared the spoils during their two pre-season games. Slavia got the better of C.B at the Sazka Arena winning 3-2 with goals from Malát, Beránek, Micka. The reverse fixture saw C.B win 2-1 with Toman and V. Hübl doing the business for Ceske Budejovice that night. So home advantage could prove to be the deciding factor again tonight. Face-off 4.30 our time.

Tomorrow's game:
Liberec vs Ústí nad Labem

Fridays fixture:
Třinec vs GEUS OKNA Kladno
RI OKNA Zlín vs Sparta
Litvínov vs Znojmo
Plzeň vs Vítkovice Steel
Karlovy Vary vs Moeller Pardubice

Pardubice face a tough road-trip away to a much improved Karlovy Vary side. Pardubice themselves have improved their squad a lot adding must more strength and skill to the defensive lines. The team looks to be better than last seasons beaten playoff finalists.
The visitors will have to be wary though, sure they defeated K.V just two weeks ago in the Tipsport cup final but I'm sure the home side will be looking for a little bit of revenge for that, should be a great early season encounter.

Full results can be seen at hokej.cz

Martin Čech Picture Tribute

Gone but not forgotten.

I know most of you will have no idea who he was but a picture tribute has been put together to celebrate Martin Čech's short but highly successful Pardubice career. The D man lost his life last week after skidding of the road and crashing into a bridge on his way home from Pardubice. So seeing as I love HC Pardubice I thought I would share the video and show it off to a wider audience.

Martin Čech - R.I.P

Capitals 6-3 Stingrays - Home Opener

It didn't take the new Capitals team long to secure their first win of the new season on home ice. 1 game, 1 win. As for the on ice extraviganze itself, we were good again. It was another decent early season performance that put the points on the board. During the 1st period Hull had made a promising start. It was obvious that they have some smooth skaters on their squad and they created a few problems for the Caps. As the period worn on though we began to move up a few gears, we started to create real scoring chances. Something we hadn't done the night before. We rightly ended it in front with a 4-1 advantage after the first period. We saw some quality goals from Luza and Hemingway. I thought the 2nd was a little bit different. It was flat with no real flow to game thanks to the ref. The stop/start scrappy play of the game allowed Hull to claw their way back into the contest. The 'Rays already look like a hard working unit and they put up a good fight against us during the 2nd. The 3rd was more of the same really, we did extremely well killing off their penalties and then taking full advantage of our own power plays!. There were plenty of positive again for the Caps after the final hooter went. We were a strong unit for the majority of the match up.

We really could be on to something special this season!... fingers crossed!

Man of the match - Hat trick hero Patrik Luza!. That should take away some of his pain at Vsetín biting the dust this year!

Kelman Reads Check To The Head:

Here is a picture taken especially for the Belfast Giants female supporters and well maybe for one or two of their males fans too. ANYWAY!... The important thing is that Todd Kelman knows how amazing the Check To The Head fanzine is, he reads and so should you!!!

Giants 2-1 Capitals - Fanzine Update

Well the opening game of the new season has been and gone and unfortunately the Capitals were on the wrong side of the early season result. The team performed quite well in what turned out to be a rather damp affair at the Odyssey. By half way through the 2nd period it was very obvious the Capitals hadn't taken part in any pre-season games. The team looked a bit worn out but despite that we fought the Giants well. They too looked tired at times as both squads battled hard along the boards. The game was very even, both teams looked to have the same skill levels but the biggest difference in the end was the Giants players knowing each others games a bit better than all our new imports did. We struggled to gel on the forward lines and that led to very few scoring chances for the Caps. I'm confident that in about two weeks time the Capitals game plan will become much stronger, they players will know each other a lot better and the on ice product will be almost complete. It is a very exciting time for the club and all the fans!

In other news, the Giants fans took to our Fanzine very well. We easily broke through our sales target and even managed to have one issue 'borrowed' by the Giants general manager Tod Kelman. We offered him an interview but who knows if he will get in contact with the CTTH team. I hope the other Caps fans like it as well. The 1st Issue will be on sale tonight at M.I.R, so don't be afraid to ask me or my associates for a copy. A buck well spent if you ask the Giants fans. Check it out!

A Check To The Head - In Your Hands

CHECK TO THE HEAD - FANZINE:

Finally the wait is almost over as the 'Check To The Head' team are uber pleased and proud to announce the release of the first ever Edinburgh Capitals fanzine. Yes that's right an Edinburgh Capitals magazine!. The first issue will be available to the fans from the opening weekend of the new season. The fanzine itself will cost a measly £1 and will be more than value for money. That is a CTTH guarantee right there!. The Check To The Head team have put a lot of work into getting the fanzine ready on time so we hope you lot like what you read and see in front of you. There will be plenty of opportunities for the fans to give some feedback too. Anyway for the opening issue of the Check To The Head mag we managed to secure an exclusive interview with Doug Christiansen. You won't be able to see the article anywhere else in the known hockey universe. So you know what you gotta do this weekend ;op

The opening issue also features an extremely exciting competition, a review of our opposition and a look ahead to the months biggest Capitals match ups. There is tons more inside the fanzine for you to enjoy ranging from stories, stats, hints and tips plus one or two other highly interesting/cheeky/humorous pieces for you to read.

We hope you enjoy the 1st release after all it is a magazine by the fans for the fans!!!

Welcome To Edinburgh:

Doug Christiansen took some time out from the Capitals 1st training session together to introduce some of the new faces to the team for the 07/08 season. He let the small crowd in attendance show their appreciation to J.F Perras, Coling Hemingway, Adam Stefishen and Mike Stutzel.



I left the Caps session with a good feeling, the squad looked to be sharing some jokes and laughs together already. A good sign in my book. Some of the players looked sharp others were maybe a step or two behind but that was to be expected after a long summer. I can't wait for the new season to start now. I'm confident the Caps can be a threat to every other team in the league now.