Šenkeřík Stays at Hradec: Positive Direction for Hockey Club

The match of the 34th round between Mountfield and Verva was very specific for the 34-year-old defender of the visitors Petr Šenkeřík. The experienced defender, who has already played in the extra league for a record number of ten different clubs, left less than a week ago from the confluence of the Elbe and Orlica, where he was supposed to work until the end of January. He then signed a contract with Chemiky, for which he started for the third time against his former employer, and helped Chez win 3:2 with a precise strike.

Petř, you managed the match successfully and after the 3:2 win you add enormously important three points to the table. How would you rate it?
I think it was a deserved victory. We did an analysis on Hradec, according to which we completed things until half the match. Then we had some suspensions there that knocked us down a little bit. But I think we were the better team.

You made a breakthrough after more than a year, opening a goal account for the Chemists in the very third start – your shot from the blue line sailed right into the far post. How did you see the whole event?
The puck bounced to me from the goalpost, I was waiting for a little hole to be made there, I was trying to shoot the defender and it’s great that it fell there. I’m happy to have helped the team and we have three points.

Until recently, you worked under the White Tower, you played the last match here on December 7, you know the Mountfield team so well. Did you help the coaches prepare for the Lions and their active style of play?
The coaches asked me some things, but these days everything is on Insta and on video, and it’s the third time they’ve played against each other, so the teams know plus or minus what to expect from each other. Even so, I said something to the coaches and our plan worked – we worked according to it and deserved the three points.

In the end, you successfully defended a four-minute power play by the Lions, you blocked twenty-two shots for the entire match. Does this dedication testify to the quality character of the team?
I think that combativeness is a matter of course. Block a shot, sacrifice yourself for the team, even if it hurts. It doesn’t matter what part of the table you’re in, even if we’re in a bad place right now. But it certainly characterizes our team – we are willing to fall behind ourselves so that the puck does not pass and we collect points.

For you, what is the biggest difference between your previous engagement in eastern Bohemia and your current one in Litvínov?
I am in such a position that I can play my hockey. In Hradec, I didn’t play much, I just patched up some holes and I don’t think I even had a chance to show my game. So I’m glad that I got the space here and I will try to repay this trust.

So, do I understand correctly that you were happy about the change of club?
Of course, I didn’t want to leave Hradec, but some things happened and I was somehow forced to do so. I still had a contract until January, but of course here in the Czech Republic I don’t know if it applies much… I’m glad that I’m in Litvínov now, I hope that we’ll continue on the scoring wave and avoid the play-off.

Since you arrived, the black and yellow have been doing well – Cheza has collected seven points from three duels. That’s nice, isn’t it?
Although we lost in extra time in Olomouc, at least we got a point. The boys won before, they beat Liberec and Sparta, I saw those matches. The team’s play and the mentality of the players have definitely improved. Above all, we must not rest on our laurels, because for us every match and point is important. We want to get closer to the teams above us and get to the playoffs.

You came to Litvínov, i.e. to the last team in the table, approximately halfway through the season. Didn’t you feel a negative atmosphere from the team?
I came to the match in Olomouc and immediately felt welcome. There is such a Czech cabin, jokes everywhere. Of course we all feel the pressure, but it is important to think positively. What was, was – it will not change. We prepare especially for each opponent and I think we are going in the right direction.

This three-point gain came in very handy for you, currently you lose four points to thirteenth-placed Mlada Boleslav, who have a game to spare, and twelfth-placed Kladno. You can get away with the fact that Verva was clearly last until recently, right?
It’s still four points, it still doesn’t solve anything, we’re in last place. We have to cut the loss as much as possible, take every point we can. We could have had three in Olomouc, but in the end we were happy for one. We will try to fight for the playoffs, because in addition to Boleslav, Kladno is also down there.

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