Match results
10 | 5 Oct 13:00 | HC Rotterdam ROT | 9 - 0 | TJ Plzeň-Litice TJP | Recap | ||
13 | 6 Oct 10:15 | TJ Plzeň-Litice TJP | 0 - 1 | SV Arminen ARM | Recap |
* Won by shoot-out
About TJ Plzeň-Litice
TJ Plzeň-Litice saw off their nearest rivals SK Slavia Prague on Saturday to continue their perfect start to the new season ahead of their EHL KO16 date with Rotterdam.
Neat goals from Ondřej Sochor, Jakub Koryťák and Adam Uhlíř earned them the 3-2 result. It adds to two double-figure wins a week before against newly promoted HC 1957 Kadaň and HC Hostivař, something they were grateful for as the flooding in central Europe did not have the same impact in western Czechia.
Plzeň qualified for their second EHL as Czech outdoor champions, going back-to-back in this format as well as indoors to make It four national championships.
And they opened this season well with a relatively stable panel with Matěj Bílek, Jiří Červený and Otakar Gerlický training with the side from their youth section while goalkeeper Tomáš Nečas has retired.
Uhlíř remains the key man; he captains both the club and international side and was voted the best outdoor player in the Czech Republic in both 2019 and 2022.
Among other vital elements to the side are Koryťák who has played in England and Italy, as well as at the World Indoor Championships in Germany in 2015.
Reinhard Nicklas’s father was a first-league soccer player and his step-father was a top tier ice hockey player; he is also well travelled, playing in Italy and Scotland and the EuroHockey Championship in Belgium 2013 as well as the qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics.
Lukáš Benda is a former captain of the country’s junior team while Kryštof Šesták – played in 2024 indoor Championships, the Under-21 and senior outdoor championships.
He has been part of the first team since he was 15 and looks on course to play his part despite a nasty torn calf injury in July which initially looked to keep him on the sidelines for six months.
For the first month, he could barely step on his foot but, with intense physio and work, he has made excellent progress and is now hopeful of playing his part in the EHL for a second time.
EHL History
2023/24 – 17th place