Nachdem es für Atlant nach der Finalteilnahme 2011 tätig Berg ab ging und man in der vergangenen Saison nicht einmal die Playoff Teilnahme gelang will das Team vom Stadtrand Moskaus im nächsten Jahr wieder ein Wörtchen in der Liga mitreden.Mit dem finnischen Torhüter Atte Engren und den beiden tschechischen Spielern Petr Vrana und Ondrej Nemec holte das KHL Team aus Mytischi heute gleich drei Spieler aus Prag...
Oscar Möller wechselt aus Schweden zu Ak Bars Kazan....
There are rumors that Lev's gonna miss next khl season. You know I think this team is a bunch of jerks but I don't want them to leave the league, they gave us such an incredible play off final
game was aaaamaaaazing, i was lucky to sit next to some really cool people so we could root for and swear together, and hug, sure. and wee wooon! Mozyakin is God
Lev Praha setzt sich zum Auftakt des Gagarin Cup Finals bei Magnitogorsk mit 3:0 durch. Petri Vehanen feiert mit 21 Saves erneut ein Shutout. Im ersten Abschnitt dieses ersten Finalspiels kamen beide Teams zu je einem Überzahlspiel wobei die Gäste aus Tschechien durch einen Treffer von Martin Sevc in der 14. Minute eines ihrer beiden Powerplays zur 1:0 Führung nutzen konnten.
Wie schon zuletzt im Conference Finale gegen Lokomotiv Yaroslavl zeigte Lev Praha wieder eine starke Defensivleistung und in der Offensive nutzte man die Fehler des Gegners aus. So auch in der 25. Minute als Jiri Sekac den Puck hinter der Torlinie den völlig frei stehenden Petr Vrana servieren konnte und dieser zur zwei Tore Führung für Lev einschoss.
Im letzten Abschnitt versuchte Metallurg Magnitogorsk alles um die Niederlage noch abzuwenden doch Petri Vehanen im Tor der Löwen war erneut nicht zu bezwingen. In der 59. Minute dann die endgültige Entscheidung in diesem Spiel. Als Metallurg mit sechs Spielern versuchte das Unmögliche doch noch Möglich zu machen konnte Jiri Novotny einen langen Pass an Justin Azevedo anbringen und dieser traf zum 3:0 Sieg. Damit geht Lev Praha mit 1:0 in Führung und macht die Möglichkeit das erstmals ein nicht russisches Team den Gagarin Cup gewinnt noch um eine Spur möglicher.
From HC Lev Hradec Kralove and its denied entrance in the Kontinental Hockey League in 2010 to Lev Poprad and their only KHL season in 2011-12 it has certainly been a short, but turbulent journey. In 2012, after the approval of the Czech Ice Hockey Association, a new HC Lev officially began its expedient and rather ruthless road to success. A road which, if looked at closely, still highlights a scrappy underdog in the midst of his own miracle.
The foundations of a team that would threaten the Russian dominance of KHL's cosmonaut-named trophy were laid during Lev's inaugural season. The NHL lockout brought the likes of Zdeno Chara, Jiri Hudler and Jakub Voracek to the fold, resulting in a Conference Quarterfinals appearance. Josef Jandac, the team's first-ever coach was removed in late October and replaced with Vaclav Sykora. Jiri Novotny was named captain. Despite the playoffs appearance, a sweep suffered at the hands of CSKA Moscow and a poor start to the 2013-14 campaign resulted in the hiring of a Finnish mastermind who began establishing a new, team-first philosophy.
Prior to replacing Sykora in Prague, the 54-year old Kari Jalonen was twice presented with the Kalevi Numminen trophy as the best SM-Liiga coach with Oulun Karpat. Of course, such results merited a move to a bigger stage and the Finn moved on to HIFK and one of the toughest coaching jobs in Finland. He won. Next, he completed two KHL seasons with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod having reached the post season (Conference Semis) once. Turns out, his experience and hockey savvy was just what the doctor ordered.
In the midst of Lev's series sweep of Medvescak Zagreb in the first round of this year's Gagarin Cup playoffs I asked him about stretch passes splitting Medvescak's D and if speed was something emphasized as part of the game plan. Jalonen replied with good humor:
"I can't really talk about it, I've got the other head coach right beside me."
He was, of course, referring to Mark French, Zagreb's Canadian bench boss, who himself was painfully aware of all areas of play in which the Czech side was superior. Jalonen's team was winning board battles, played a delightfully dirty hockey game when needed, blocked a ton of shots, received timely scoring and defended like future champions. French wasn't out-coached, Lev's players simply outperformed their counterparts from Zagreb. After all, you don't sweep a 6th seed just by sporting a lion's crest on your jersey.
Certainly, it's one thing to play the narrative but it's quite another when underlying numbers back up that narrative. Lev's starting goaltender Petri Vehanen has been outstanding. In 13 starts, Vehanen boasts a 93.9 SP and a 1.67 GAA after playing a whale of a regular season. His stellar play coupled with 2 shoutouts allowed only 2 starts for Finnish compatriot Atte Engren, who collected 2 wins (96.2 SP, 0.90 GAA, 1 SO).
Their defense kept the goals-against-average throughout the playoffs at just 1.80 – best of all the teams that qualified for the post season. The team has fired 478 shots on goal (third most in the post season) and scored the most goals of any team in the playoffs (46). Their post season penalty killing percentage currently stands at 92.9% which is, again, top of the heap. Jalonen's boys have had 60 man advantage opportunities and scored on 23.3% of those opportunities (14 PP goals, second most in the post season). A lot of what they did was just perfect. Some of it wasn't - Lev's players have spent 211 minutes in the penalty box – the third highest number out there, but they kept winning.
Indeed, their methodical, soft spoken head coach was right to keep his cards close. But he kept his friends closer. Martin Thornberg was a star player during their stint with Torpedo. Now, the Swedish born sniper has become a key component of a story that might not rival that of Lokomotiv but is definitely worth telling. After delivering many a blow to the Croatian outfit in their first-round encounter, Thornberg went on to collect 11 points in 15 playoff games after a fine regular season (53 games, 18 goals, 31 points) – his first with Lev. However, after having received offensive contributions from throughout the lineup, it's clear that Lev isn't a one man team.
PHOTO: Martin Thornberg with Torpedo / Wikimedia Commons
During the playoffs, 21 players from Lev's roster registered at least one point. Out of that total, there are 10 players that registered 6 or more points in the post season. Out of their 46 goals, the highest goals total of one player is 6 (Martin Thornberg and Petr Vrana). Only 4 players on the roster have a minus rating (-2 being the worst). Still, in the Final, they will need everyone, to a man.
As impressive as Lev's season is looking right now, the Final will still bring their most difficult test – Metallurg Magnitogorsk. On the other side of the puck, Iron Mike Keenan is eager to become the first North American bench boss to claim the Gagarin Cup with a team looking to win what would be the only KHL championship in franchise history. Its roster features the likes of Sergei Mozyakin, Jan Kovar and Danis Zaripov who have been an utterly dominant line in the East. Yes, Metallurg certainly looks like the kind of team that could re-write this narrative.
Throughout the season, HC Lev has been totally zeroed in on completing their ultimate goal, a goal of bringing the first-ever KHL championship to a non-Russian city. For now, they only succeeded in challenging for the trophy despite having the second lowest budget of the four teams that qualified for the Conference Finals ($22,175,443). Lokomotiv, the lowest paid roster of the four, earns only $754,278 less. Their Gagarin Cup opposition? Well, Keenan's team budget is $30,918, 497.
After finishing 6th in league-wide average attendance in 2013-14 (7,161) the number dipped in 2013-14 (5,180). But, sure enough, with competence come wins and wins are usually followed by fans – a universal truth with professional sports everywhere. Now, just four steps away from glory, it's the right time to jump on that bandwagon. Even if it doesn't result in a championship, one thing is certain - Lev has quickly become a team worth following, especially if they create some history in the process. (by Mislav Jantoljak)
