Kometa won the first five games in group play of the CHL. Photo: Pavel Ševela [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Brno, October 25 (BD) – Slow start dooms mmcite+; Žabiny win domestically and internationally; Lokomotiva gears up for important home games; Zbrojovka loses at Viktoria Plzeň; and the Brno sports schedule.
The mix of images clash in many ways: Switzerland. Hockey. Halloween. Kometa.
Yet, DFRG Arena will play host to all four of those elements on Halloween Tuesday night when the Champions Hockey League Round of 16 begins. Kometa will play EV Zug at 7 p.m.
Kometa won their first five games in group play of the CHL. They lost in Sweden to the Malmö Redhawks in the final group game and settled for the No. 2 seed. The Round of 16 is a two-game, home-and-away series, with the winner determined by aggregate score. Kometa will travel to Switzerland on Nov. 7.
Brno has been off-and-on lately, but maybe they have turned the corner. After winning seven in a row, then losing three, Kometa scored twice in the third period to beat host BK Mladá Boleslav, 0-2, on Sunday. Twenty-one-year-old Karel Vejmelka got his third start of the season in Mladá Boleslav and his second shutout. He has faced 82 shots and given up only one goal in 180 minutes. Hynek Zohorna (with an assist from Alexandre Mallet) scored in the 51st minute and Martin Dočekal (Tomáš Vincour) iced the game with a 60th minute goal.
Through 16 games, Vincour leads the team with seven goals. Martin Erat and Martin Zaťovič have six. Tomáš Svoboda, Marcel Haščák, Mallet, and Vojtěch Němec all have five.
Erat, who has 14 assists, leads the team with 20 points. Zaťovič has 15 points.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
mmcité+ Start Slow, Lose to Svitavy
Within the first minute mmcité+ Brno was already down 0-5. It never got any better. DEKSTONE Tuři Svitavy came down to Brno and won, 76-84, on Saturday.
Brno scored 25 points in the second and fourth quarters, but they were unable to get moving in the first (12 points) and the third (14).
Brian Sullivan led the team with 20 points. He was 5-of-13 from 3-point range in an attempt to get Brno back into the game. Overall, Brno was just 21 of 59 from the field.
Mladen Primorac had 17 points and 12 rebounds. Kevin Mays had 11 points and a game-high 13 boards off the bench.
Brno is 2-3 through five games of the season. mmcité+ Brno travels to USK Praha (2-2) on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. tip off.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Žabiny win Domestically, Internationally; KP Brno Just Domestically
Žabiny Brno handled BA K. Vary, 67-43, on Saturday and Sokol Nilfisk Hradec Králové, the No. 2 team in the league standings, doubled up visiting Technic Brno 102-46.
KP Brno has struggled in international play, but they may be building momentum in the domestic league. They beat SBŠ Ostrava 51-75 on Sunday.
Through seven games of the ZBL season, KP Brno has moved up to fourth with a 5-2 record, Basket Žabiny Brno is 4-3 and Technic Brno is 2-5.
In international play, Zabiny Brno beat the Austrian champion, Flying Foxes SVS Post Vienna, 79-75, in their first CEWL Cup match last Wednesday. Jana Hausknechtová led the way with 21, Tea Buzov added 15 and Křivánková had 14. Vitulova and Vacková both reached double-digits with 10 points. Zabiny, who pulled away in the fourth quarter, were 7 of 15 from 3-point range.
KP Brno went on the road in the EuroCup and lost in Switzerland to Fribourg, 72-52. They play in Venice, Italy tonight (Wednesday).
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Brno Hosts Liberec Saturday
Brno is one of five teams with two wins in the eight-team top women’s league. A good showing in the next two games — which are both in Horni Herspice — would go a long way to ensuring that they stay in the top league next year.
FC Slovan Liberec visits on Saturday at 11 a.m. FK Dukla Praha stops by the following Saturday, Nov. 4. Lokomotiva won 1-3 in Liberec in late August and lost 3-1 at Dukla in early September.
Two wins this time would be huge. One would be a big step forward.
The season continues in late February.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Plzeň Remains Undefeated Against Visiting Zbrojovka
It was a tough assignment from the beginning and Zbrojovka predictably proved unable to beat host Viktoria Plzeň on Sunday, losing 3-0 in Zbrojovka coach Roman Pivarník’s return to his former team.
Pivarník was the head coach at Plzeň last year. He is now 1-1 with Zbrojovka after being unable to pull off another victory to add to his debut against 1. FC Slovácko. Plzeň scored in the final third of the first half, in the 30th, 42nd and 45th minutes. They are a perfect 11-for-11 this season.
Four games are left in the autumn part of the HET Liga season. Dukla Praha (currently 10th in the standings standings) visits on Saturday at 5 and Teplice (eighth) is in Brno two weeks later. Away games include trips to Jablonec (sixth) and, in a game that might decide the entire season, to Jihlava (16th) during the last weekend of November.
Moravian teams have really struggled this season. Jihlava and Zborjovka both have seven points through 11 games. MFK Karviná and FC Baník Ostrava both have eight points. 1.FC Slovácko has nine.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
- Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017
— Women’s Basketball (EuroCup): Fribourg 72, KP Brno 52
— Women’s Basketball (CEWL): Basket Žabiny Brno 79, Flying Foxes SVP Post 75
- Friday, Oct. 20, 2017
— Hockey: Kometa 1, Mountfield HK 2, DRFG Arena, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno 76, DEKSTONE Tuři Svitavy 84
— Women’s Basketball: Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové 102, Technic Brno 46; Žabiny Brno 67, BA K. Vary 43
- Sunday, Oct, 22, 2017
— Hockey: Ml.Boleslav 0, Kometa 2
— Football: Viktoria Plzeň 3, Zbrojovka Brno 0
— Women’s Basketball: SBŠ Ostrava 51, KP Brno 75
BRNO SPORTS SCHEDULE
The schedule for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the next two weeks. All dates and times subject to change. Home team listed first (when applicable).
- Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017
— Women’s Basketball (EuroCup): Venezia X KP Brno, 8 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 27, 2017
— Hockey: Kometa X Zlín, DRFG Arena, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H. H. X FC Slovan Liberec, 11 a.m.
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X Technic Brno, 4:30 p.m.
— Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Dukla Praha, 5 p.m.
— Men’s Basketball: USK Praha X mmcité+ Brno, 5:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017
— Hockey: Chomutov X Kometa, 3:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: U19 Chance X Žabiny Brno, 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017
— Hockey (Champions League): Kometa X EV Zug, DRFG Arena, 7 p.m.
————————————————————–
- Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017
— Women’s Basketball (EuroCup): Wasserburg X KP Brno, 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 3, 2017
— Hockey: Kometa X Sparta, DRFG Arena, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017
— Men’s Basketball: mmcite+ Brno X BK ARMEX Děčín, 7 p.m.
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H. H. X FK Dukla Praha, 11 a.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017
— Football: Jablonec X Zbrojovka Brno, 2 p.m.
— Hockey: Dukla X Kometa, 4 p.m. ——————————————————————————-
- Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017
— Hockey (Champions League): EV Zug X Kometa, 7:45 p.m.
The Brno Sports Report is published every Wednesday. All dates and times are subject to change. Most of the stories are about the traditional “English-speaking” team sports — football, hockey, baseball, basketball, American football, rugby, etc. — but it is also about the interesting local spectator and participation sports — tennis, badminton, running, horse racing, swimming, rock climbing, biking, etc. If you have any suggestions for what should be included, please comment below or send an email to brnosports@gmail.com.
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