MOL Liga Weekly Roundup – 19 November

19 Nov 2012 | Tim Bourcier

The MOL Liga was back in action after the Olympic prequalifier break. The next month will be a little slow with action as we near the official midway point because of the holiday season. This was a bit of an interesting week of action. Are the recent results a trend of things to come or a funny blip on the radar?

First, here is a quick recap of scores and the current table.

Friday, 16 November

HC Novy Zamky – ASC Corona Brasov: 1 – 2 shootout victory

Ujpest TE – HSC Csikszereda: 2 - 3 overtime victory

Miskolc Jegesmedvek – DAB Dolcer: 4 – 1

Sunday, 18 November

Ujpest TE – ASC Corona Brasov: 3 – 2

Miskolc Jegesmedvek – HC Novy Zamky: 7 – 3

Ferencvaros – HSC Csikszereda: 2 – 8

Monday, 19 November

HC Novy Zamky – HSC Csikszereda: 5 – 0

Ferencvaros – DAB Dolcer: 0 – 1

Miskolc Jegesmedvek – Ujpest TE: 7 – 2

Current Table

Place Team GP 3p. 2p. 1p. 0p. + / - Point

First DAB Docler 22 18 1 1 2 104:43 57

Second Miskolc Jegesmedvek 23 13 2 0 8 96:60 43

Third HC Nové Zámky 24 13 1 1 9 85:67 42

4th HSC Csíkszereda 21 10 2 2 7 65:66 36

5th ASC Corona Brasov 20 6 2 2 10 50:67 24

6th Ferencváros ESMT 22 4 3 2 13 65:95 20

7th Újpesti TE 24 2 1 4 17 40:107 12

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good

This week it goes to Miskolc Jegesmedvek. Three regulation wins (nine points) moves them into second place and five games out of first place. These wins were not easy games either; they came against the top two teams (where they won by a spread of seven goals) and a possibly resurgent Ujpest squad. They now also have the two top scorers in the league with Martin Saluga (18-22-40) and Gergely Nagy (12-24-36).

The Bad

Two games this week for Ferencvaros resulted in two losses. Though they only lost 1 – 0 to DAB Dolcer Monday night, they had a horrible showing on Sunday against HSC Csikszereda, losing 8 – 2. If the playoffs are going to happen, they need all the wins they can get, especially against the Romanian teams sitting above them in the standings.

The Ugly

ASC Corona Brasov had a nasty game against Ujpest Sunday night. After squeezing past HC Novy Zamky the night before in a shootout, they fell apart in Budapest picking up 80 penalty minutes. This included three game misconducts and ten minutes of minor penalties by Juhamatti Hietamaki alone - three of those were roughing penalties. Games like this are not going to get them into the playoffs and are not going to convince the owners to maintain this roster. Brasov needs to keep their composure if they are going to get back into the hunt.

Power Rankings

1) Miskolc Jegesmedvek

They are not the best team in the table, but they are the best team coming into the midpoint. They moved into second place, beat the top two teams handily and are five games out of first.

2) HC Novy Zamky

A shoutout loss to a frustrated Brasov and a move into third place makes it a little hard to argue that they should be in the two slot. A seven point weekend is a great weekend though and the Slovak squad continues to play strong against top ranked opponents.

3) DAB Dolcer

DAB Dolcer is still five games (14 points) up in the table. However, they barely beat a struggling Ferencvaros side Monday night and was defeated easily by Miskolc on Friday. They have some cushion, but they will have to pick up their winning ways to stay in first place with a lot of games left.

4) HSC Csikszereda

Right in the middle, not too great, not too bad. They barely squeezed by Ujpest (arguably a game they should have lost), played very well against Ferencvaros, but did not stand a chance against Novy Zamky at the end of a long travel weekend. Inconsistent play may keep them in fourth place, but it is not making the owners and fans happy. A surge by any of he three teams below them could leave them outside looking in for the playoffs.

5) Ujpest TE

They could have beat Csikszereda and did beat Brasov. They added four points this weekend putting them three games back from the sixth spot. This is a young squad – are they learning how to win or was this a lucky week?

6) ASC Corona Brasov

Two points in Novy Zamky was a steal, but a loss against Ujpest is a disappointment. There are rumors that owners are thinking of dropping contracts because of the poor showing this season. Did two points and some other losses give Brasov some extra time or will they start throwing in the cards? Sunday night was not a good look for the Romanians.

7) Ferencvaros

Two losses in two games for Ferencvaros, though they had a good showing against DAB Dolcer. Good showings are not good enough at this point.

What to Watch For?

Game of the week

23 November: DAB Dolcer – Miskolc Jegesmedvek in Dunaujvaros.

Is Miskolc going to continue surging toward the top of the table or will DAB Dolcer show them why they have been the best team all year? This is the game to watch for the week with the league’s top two teams facing off Friday night.

Televised Games

The following games will be televised on DIGI Sport:

HSC Csikszereda – ASC Corona Brasov: Friday, 23 November

ASC Corona Brasov – Ujpest TE: Monday, 26 November

For full MOL Liga updates, including box score and game stats, check out the league page on EuroHockey.com

Tim Bourcier is a writer for EuroHockey.com following the MOL Liga and hockey in Hungary. Follow him on Twitter @bourciertm and read his blog Sport Exec in Training.