Riga’s season comes to close with crushing playoff defeat

[Bojovnik 487]

RIGA, September 6 (CZHockey) - The Riga Reign made it to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons in S79, although that will be of little consolation to the Latvian team, which was bounced out of the postseason in five games against the Warsaw Predators.

 

Despite the early-season heroics of outgoing goaltender Zamboni Driver, the Reign’s defence looked leaky in all but one of the games as the Latvian side lost Games three, four, and five on their way to a resounding postseason loss.

 

In Game 1, Warsaw’s top line was dominant, as Aloe Dear and Tim Waters both bagged four points each as the Polish side took a comfortable 7-4 victory. Driver was pulled at the midpoint of the game after conceding five goals, and Matthew A Sovick Jr put in an admirable performance in relief.

 

Despite the first game defeat, the Reign looked to have sorted out many of their issues when it came to Game 2. Riga were outshoot 42-32 in the second game of the series, but Driver had a bounceback performance, stopping all but one shot as the Reign took a 3-1 victory (goals from Linus Zetterstrom, Isau DaMoose, and Justin Lose).

 

However, that would be the only delight that the Reign would get. Warsaw shelled Riga in Game 3, with the Predators’ top line once again leading the charge in a morale destroying 7-2 win.

 

Once again, the Reign tightened things up for Game 4, conceding just two goals, but a Chris Reynolds winner in the second period would be all the Predators needed to sneak a 2-1 victory, setting up a must-win Game 5 for the Latvian club.

 

Consistency has been an issue for the Reign all season, and despite trading six goals in a thrilling opening period, Warsaw turned on the style in the middle frame to lead 6-4 heading into the final 20 minutes.

 

Despite the season being on the line, the Reign mustered a paltry five shots in a third period that was dominated by the Predators, who held on for victory in both the game and the series.

 

The Reign face several questions going into the offseason, not least with the departure of Zamboni Driver in net.

 

Another player with a question mark over his head is defenceman Jan Hlozek, whose rookie deal has now expired.

 

The Topolna native couldn’t hide his disappointment when he spoke to reporters after the Game 5 loss.

 

“We played all season to go out like that. It’s frankly embarrassing. Maybe our start to the season was too good and we got ahead of ourselves, but we’ve been struggling to put it together at all over the last 50 games or so. It’s so disappointing given the quality that we know we have on this roster, and it really leaves some question marks over what is going to happen next,” Hlozek said.

 

Several days later, Hlozek spoke with CZHockey to give his thoughts on the season that was, also revealing some insights into his future and his conversations with the Reign’s management following the disappointing end to the season.

 

“I’m still trying to pull together my thoughts from this past season. Once again, I think it is fair to say that we have underperformed given the strength of our roster. We have a number of players who are really in their prime at the moment, so it’s once again frustrating that we can’t seem to get things going and consistently perform,” Hlozek said.

 

The Topolna native bettered his points totals from his rookie season, only just. Hlozek had 50 points in his debut campaign, and looked set to fall below that total for much of the season, before he burst into form in the final week of the season.

 

Despite that, Hlozek had just three points in five playoff games, registering just four hits, and the Czech blueliner said that the experience of playing in the VHL playoffs for the first time had given him even more motivation to improve his skills before S80.

 

“We all know that the game gets harder in the postseason. I’m not saying anything new here. Warsaw played well, they dominated us for most of the series, and I don’t just mean with their skill. They were more physical, they used the body. Maybe we weren’t prepared for that. I know I could have been more prepared, so I know that going into this offseason I have to invest in my strength and conditioning so that I will be ready for whatever happens next season,” Hlozek said.

 

Speaking of next season, Hlozek has yet to re-sign with the Riga Reign. The Czech blueliner has previously said that he is happy in Latvia, although could it be that the recent playoff disappointment and several off-ice incidents could see the Topolna native look to leave the club after just two seasons in the VHL?

 

“That’s a conversation that my agent and I will have to have in the coming days. I’m yet to hear anything from team’s management, which I guess you could say is quite surprising. I’m willing to sit down and have discussions, but they have to realize that a player’s career is short. I don’t know what is going to happen with our situation in net, so I have to make the best decision for me first and foremost,” Hlozek remarked.

 

Since being drafted 8^th overall in S77, Hlozek has scored 104 points in 144 games and is on the way to becoming one of the best Czech players to have ever played in the VHL.

 

Despite this, he knows that team success will go a long way to deciding his legacy once his career is over.

 

“Look, I’m here to win. I want to contribute to help a team win, sure, and scoring points goes a long way to doing that. But I don’t just want to win one Continental Cup. I want to win as many as I can, multiple wins. I’ll be doing my all to make that happen,” he concluded.

 

Spoiler

1,010 words. claiming this week and next.

 

[Bojovnik 487]

Week two