Playoff bound: one ticket remaining
March 5, 2022
It couldn’t be otherwise – the last week of BHL games puts all the dots on “i”. After the first day of the weekend, two more teams secured their places in the playoffs: Granitas Kaunas and Dragunas Klaipeda. Tomorrow, on the last day of the regular season, the last playoff participant will be determined. If the regular season ended now, HC Vilnius, in sixth place, would qualify for the playoffs. However, if Dobele Tenax beats SK Tapa tomorrow, they will be the ones to qualify for the next round. Also today, it was clear that Varsa Alytus finished eighth in the regular season and got a direct ticket to next year’s Baltic Handball League.
SK Tapa – HC Dragunas Klaipeda | 29:34 (13:19)
Vahur Oolup (Tapa):
The game started evenly, then Dragunas pulled ahead by a couple of points. The game went more or less Lithuanian style all the time. At times, we managed to come back into the game, but Dragunas finally made their word count. To sum up, there is not a bad word to say about the game. The boys put in the effort and did a good job! Tomorrow is the last game of this season of the BHL, and we hope that the fans will come to the hall to cheer for us.
Benas Butkus (Dragunas):
The main objective of the match was achieved: two points. It was a nervous match, with a lot of mistakes, especially in the second half, both in defence and offence. In any case, we got two points, and we will strive for the same tomorrow.
SK Tapa – Oolup 10, Saar 9, Jaanis 4.
HC Dragunas – Hlushak 10, Butkus 6, Simonavicius 6.
Varsa-Stronglasas Alytus – Põlva Serviti | 37:32 (18:16)
Eugenijus Gimbutas (assistant coach, Varsa):
We’re pleased to have defeated the league’s current leaders. The encounter demonstrated that we are not an easy opponent, but that we are capable of defeating anyone. We began the weekend off right with a win, and we’re hoping it will serve as motivation for Sunday’s game. Today, the entire squad performed admirably. We had strong performances in all areas: defense, offense, and goalkeeping.
Rein Suvi (coach, Polva):
We missed a few players, especially in defence. We struggled with 1-on-1 situations. It was an unusual performance in defence. Conceding 37 goals is too much. We have a chance to redeem ourselves tomorrow. Congratulations to the Alytus team. They played well.
Varsa Alytus – Buronko 13, Eidukonis 7, Lastauskas 5.
Põlva Serviti – Celminš 8, Chezlov 6, Pihus 6.
| Home | GAME STATS | Away |
|---|---|---|
| 45 | SHOTS | 49 |
| 82% | SHOTS EFFICIENCY | 65% |
| 3/4 | PENALTIES GOALS/SHOTS | 3/4 |
| 75% | PENALTIES EFFICIENCY | 75% |
| 1 | YELLOW CARDS | 0 |
| 3 | 2 MIN SUSPENSIONS | 4 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
HC Vilnius – VHC Šviesa Vilnius | 22:32 (11:18)
Kęstutis Lapinskas (HC Vilnius):
A very bad match. The team didn’t concentrate, and we seemed to be scared. This is not our real face. Congratulations to the opponents for the victory, and the conclusion is that we are not yet ready for victory.
Žygimantas Sinkevičius (VHC Šviesa):
It was a good match, and we came out on top. We expected it to be more challenging, but we are pleased that we were able to focus and earn two points. This victory didn’t mean much, but it was a significant emotional victory following a string of severe defeats in the league and cup. As a result, finishing the second round successfully and going into the qualifications in good spirits is a good thing.
HC Vilnius – Drevinskas 6, Žala 6, Raudonius 3.
VHC Šviesa – Ugianskis 7, Bernatavičius 5, Sinkevičius 3.
| Home | GAME STATS | Away |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | SHOTS | 53 |
| 43% | SHOTS EFFICIENCY | 60% |
| 2/3 | PENALTIES GOALS/SHOTS | 1/1 |
| 67% | PENALTIES EFFICIENCY | 100% |
| 0 | YELLOW CARDS | 2 |
| 3 | 2 MIN SUSPENSIONS | 2 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
Viljandi HC – ZRHK Tenax Dobele | 24:22 (12:11)
Marko Koks (Viljandi):
We are still fighting for the win in the main round and wanted to show good characteristics at home and to spectators. And I believe they have positive emotions.
Viljandi HC – Voika 5, O.Varik 4, Koks 4.
Dobele – Pančenko 6, Šuleiko 5, Kreicbergs 3.
| Home | GAME STATS | Away |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | SHOTS | 41 |
| 62% | SHOTS EFFICIENCY | 54% |
| 4/6 | PENALTIES GOALS/SHOTS | 2/5 |
| 67% | PENALTIES EFFICIENCY | 40% |
| 2 | YELLOW CARDS | 2 |
| 4 | 2 MIN SUSPENSIONS | 3 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
Raasiku/Mistra – HK Ogre/HYDROX | 33:33 (18:17)
Andris Molotanovs (coach, Ogre):
I’m happy with the team’s performance in today’s game. We played from -5 and played a draw. The team showed good character. We finished BHL in 10th place. That’s good. Now we are preparing for the Latvian playoff games.
Raasiku – Naumenko 11, Zhitnikov 7, Anton 5.
HK Ogre – Patsykailik 11, Haisa 6, Hovratovičs 4.
| Home | GAME STATS | Away |
|---|---|---|
| 52 | SHOTS | 53 |
| 63% | SHOTS EFFICIENCY | 62% |
| 3/4 | PENALTIES GOALS/SHOTS | 3/3 |
| 75% | PENALTIES EFFICIENCY | 100% |
| 1 | YELLOW CARDS | 3 |
| 3 | 2 MIN SUSPENSIONS | 2 |
| 0 | RED CARDS | 0 |
Granitas-Karys Kaunas – HC Kehra/Horizon Pulp&Paper | 21:26 (10:14)
Lukas Gurskis (Granitas):
The result is not what we wanted. This is due to the fact that we had a very tight schedule with many tight games. We wanted to rest key players, and we had a lot of time for the youngsters. Of course, the execution was not the best; there were mistakes in defence. We didn’t do what we wanted to do, and that’s why the result is what it is.
David Mamporia (Kehra):
The defence worked great in this game. Because of this, we got a lot of fast breaks and an overall controlled game from the beginning till the end.
Granitas – Dambrauskas 4, Šarkauskas 4, Giedraitis 3.
Kehra – Mamporia 7, Seermann 5, Gumianov 4.