Berkut Kyiv excluded from the playoffs

"Everything is ready for the playoffs" said in the last interview Berkut coach Milos Holan.

Everything....except that Berkut won't play post season after the Professional Hockey League decision to exclude regular season winner from the second part of the competition.

In this rough season for Ukranian hockey, the exclusion of Berkut is just the last tile: along the season all clubs, except last standing Bilyy Bars Bila Tserkva, experienced difficulties, mainly with players' wages and debts with the League. Dynamo Kharkiv, Sokil Kyiv and Levy L'viv the clubs with the worst financial situation. Levy had to make a statement assuring club will play playoffs despite "is not a secret that the main and the only sponsor of the team - the company LAZ - experiencing temporary financial difficulties." After Christmas Levy announces its withdraw from the League but then backs track.

With all clubs indebted there were rumours about a possible cancellation of post-season but League decided to go through, intimating all clubs to pay the fees until February 22. After this deadline, the only club not having fulfilled the request was Berkut, so League releases the following official statement about the exclusion.

"In pursuance of the decisions of the Supervisory Board PHL from December 10, 2012, December 26, 2012, February 18, 2013 and February 21, 2013, the General Directorate PHL reports that as of 15:00 February 22, 2013 statutory obligations were fully met by these clubs "Bilyy Bars", "Dynamo Kharkiv", "Donbas", "Companion", "Levy", "Sokil Kyiv." Due to the fact that  hockey club "Berkut Kyiv" has not fulfilled in time the decision of the Supervisory Board, the club was removed from further participation in the Professional Hockey League season 2012-2013. In connection with the removal of hockey club "Berkut Kyiv" from Professional Hockey League season 2012-2013,  the hockey club "Bilyy Bars" will continue the partecipation in Second Phase"

While the Berkut Kyiv site doesn't say a word about the decision, Director General of PHL Yuri Zagorodny  confirmes the decision:"The statement which appeared on the site PHL is official. Since Berkut terminate its participation in the playoffs, all teams went one step up and Bilyy Bars came in sixth position."

Thus, the groups for qualifying round will be formed anew, as follows:
Group "A": Companion-Naftogaz Kyiv, Sokil Kyiv, Levy L'viv
Group "B":Dynamo Kharkiv, Donbas-2 Donets'k, Bilyy Bars Bila Tserkva

 

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