ITHACA, N.Y. — The Cornell men's hockey team will embark on its European tour tomorrow, splitting time between three countries, Czechia, Austria, and Slovakia, between Aug. 9 and Aug. 18.
This will be the second time the Cornell men's hockey team has traveled to Europe, the first being before the 2008-09 season.
Cornell will participate in four exhibition games during their upcoming trip, three in Czechia and one in Slovakia.
Scheduled to arrive in Prague early Friday afternoon, the Big Red will participate in numerous sightseeing events in the Czech capital, which also serves as the hometown of rising senior forward Ondrej Psenicka. Some of the events scheduled include a walking tour of Prague's Old Town, a private tour of Prague Castle, a ninth-century castle that serves as the primary residence and workplace of the Czech president, participating in a boat tour on the Vltava River, and visit the Memorial to the Children Victims of the War that commemorates the 82 children from Lidice that were gassed at Chełmno during the summer of 1942 as part of the destruction of the entire village during World War II.
The first of the four exhibition games will occur on Sunday, Aug. 11, when the Big Red plays HC Sparta Praha, a professional team based in the Czech Extraliga. HC Sparta Praha has nine former NHL players on their roster, including goaltender Josef Kořenář, defensemen Michal Kempný and Vojtech Mozik, and forwards Michal Řepík, Filip Chlapík, Roman Horák, Tomas Hyka, Miikka Salomäki, and Vladimir Sobotka. Puck drop is scheduled for 4 p.m. CET (10 a.m. ET).
Tuesday, Aug. 13, will be the first of two consecutive games for the Big Red. It will first play a collection of the top Czech student-eligible players for a 7:30 p.m. CET (1:30 p.m. ET) start. Some players are currently playing stateside and others are eligible to suit up for Czech-based university programs. The backend of the consecutive games will pit Cornell against another Czech Extraliga opponent, HC Energie Karlovy Vary, for a 5:30 p.m. CET (11:30 a.m. ET) puck drop. HC Energie Karlovy Vary has one former NHL player in defenseman Tarmo Reunanen, who played four games with the New York Rangers during the 2020-21 season.
During their time overseas, Cornell's coaching staff will participate in a couple of workshops organized by HC Sparta Praha and the Czech Hockey Association. Along with the workshops, the staff will meet with players, parents, and children from HC Energie Karlovy Vary.
Following its game with HC Energie Karlovy Vary, Cornell will return to Prague and depart for its near-four-hour bus ride to Vienna on Thursday, Aug. 15. The Big Red's final exhibition of its European trip will be on Friday, Aug. 16, when it travels to neighboring Slovakia to play HK Nitra for a 6 p.m. CET (1 p.m. ET) puck drop. HK Nitra, a member of the Slovak Extraliga, features former NHL players goaltender Sami Aittokallio and defenseman Branislav Mezei.
While in Vienna, the team will also do additional sightseeing, including a walking tour and visiting Schönbrunn Palace. The palace serves as the primary summer residence of the House of Habsburg, one of the most prominent dynasties in European history dating back to the 11th century.
