After a 48 game regular season filled with twists and turns the MOL League semi finals are finally here.
In the lower seeded MOL League semifinal series the Slovak club Nové Zámky will be taking on Miskolc. Both teams had an up and down season but it looks like they have finally taken control. Both of the clubs have changed their coaches during the season and for both clubs the current head coach was someone that had been in charge of the team in the past.
Despite not showing it Nové Zámky has probably one of the deepest and most experienced squads in the league from top to bottom. Protecting the cage most of the season has been Jan Chavon, former Toronto Maple Leafs draft pick, who lead the league in wins. The leader on the blue line is the veteran Czech international Pavel Kowalczyk. The forward unit is probably the strongest aspect of the team with Erik Weissmann finishing second in the regular season in points. Not far behind him was Martin Frolik, and a total of six players finished the season with at least 30 points.
Nové Zámky forward Peter Polcik believes this will hard matchup for them “I think, that Miskolc is for us the toughest opponent for us, we're playing combination hockey and they are playing dump and chase.”
When asked to rate the teams Polcik said “we have more experienced players than Miskolc, we scored more goals during season, we have better goalie.”
But it looks like it will come down to special teams “they have a good powerplay, it will be very hard to beat them in Miskolc,” continued Polcik.
On the other bench coach Bob Dever has a solid united team that looks to pull off some upsets and make it to the final. On the ice the team is lead by Hungarian-Canadian captain Tyler Metcalfe who was tied for the league lead in goals despite missing a number of games because of a hand injury. The other Canadian sniper Jordan Knox, who finished two goals off the league lead, also did not play a full slate because of injuries and suspensions. They also helping out the Miskolc attack during the season was Juraj Faith who had the second most amount of assists during the season, like Nové Zámky Miskolc also had six players finish with 30 points.
On the blue line Miskolc had two solid Canadians in Curtis deBruyn and Matt Boyle as well as national team defenceman Ádám Hegyi. In the cage Miskolc has had two netminders splitting time in Dávid Gyenes and Dávid Duschek with Gyenes leading the league in goals against and shutouts with Duschek finishing second in shutouts. It will be interesting to see which one Dever will go with.
Tyler Metcalfe said “Nové Zámky will be a tough opponent but we're up for the challenge. We have had success in their rink as well as ours throughout the season so it's a matter of repeating the good things we brought on those nights. Limiting their forward’s chances is a big part of that. Inconsistency was also an issue with us this regular season but the playoffs bring a fresh start so wednesday night should be an exciting game 1.”
To get a third parties opinion former Miskolc forward Josh Bonar said that it will be easy to see the opposing coaches styles “I think Miskolc will play physical, high pressure Canadian style and try to take advantage of the Nove Zámky defence.”
Schedule
February 26, 18:00, Nové Zámky: game 1
February 27, 18:00, Nové Zámky: game 2
March 2, 15:30, Miskolc: game 3
March 3, 18:30, Miskolc (if needed): game 4
March 6, Nové Zámky (if needed): game 5
Words: Szabolcs Závodszky @Zavodszky
Photo: László Mudra