Radio România Internațional

Tag: ice hockey

Sports Roundup

This weekend saw matches in the 3^rd round of the women’s handball Champions’ League group stage. On Saturday, in Group A, CSM Bucharest defeated the Croatian side Podravka Koprivnica away from home, 29-28. The Romanian champions’ top scorers were Cristina Neagu and Monika Kobylińska (Poland), with 6 goals each. In the same group, Gloria Bistriţa-Năsăud lost to Krim Ljubljana (Slovenia), 35-30, in Gloria’s second defeat in a row. The Russian player Valeria Kirdiasheva scored the largest number of goals (9) for the hosts. CSM is currently ranking 4^th in the group, with 4 points, and in the next round due on October 6 they will be facing the Danish side Nykøbing Falster. Gloria are ranked 5^th, with only 2 points, and are next to play Ferencváros in Budapest, on October 5.

In Group B, Rapid Bucharest played at home on Sunday against the German team Ludwigsburg, the defending vice-champions. The guests won by a crushing 37-29, with Anđela Janjušević as the Romanian vice-champions’ top scorer (8 goals). Rapid is currently ranked 4^th in the group, with 3 points, and will play their next match away from home, against the Danish side Team Esbjerg, on October 6^th.

In ice hockey, all the 3 Romanian teams taking part in the regional competition Erste Liga won their respective matches on Sunday, against Hungarian teams. The winners of last year’s competition, Corona Braşov, defeated Jegesmedvék 5-4 at home, after penalty shootouts. Also at home, Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc won 5-4 against Budapest Jégkorong Akadémia. The other Romanian club in the competition, ACSH Gheorgheni, defeated Hungary’s FEHA19 5-2. Top of the standings are Corona, with 11 points in 4 games. Next come DEAC Debrecen, with 9 points in 3 matches.

This weekend the 10^th round of the Romanian football Super league also took place. On Friday in Botoşani the local team, Fotbal Club and Gloria Buzău drew, 3-all. Another draw, 1-all, was also the result of the match pitting Oţelul Galaţi against Dinamo Bucharest. And Saturday also brought 2 draws: Hermannstadt Sibiu vs CFR Cluj (0-0) and FCSB Bucharest vs Petrolul Ploieşti (0-0). On Sunday, Farul Constanţa defeated Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe 2-1 on home turf, and Universitatea Cluj drew against Universitatea Craiova, in Cluj (1-1). The last 2 matches are scheduled for tonight: UTA Arad vs Poli Iaşi and Unirea Slobozia vs Rapid Bucharest. Top of the current ranking are Universitatea Cluj, with 22 points, and Oţelul Galaţi, with 17 points. (AMP)

23 September 2024
Sports Flash

At the World Ice Hockey Championships in Bolzano, Italy, Romania secured a 2-1 win against Hungary. The Romanians lost the first two matches to Italy and Slovenia with the same scoring 1-6. On Friday, Romania will be playing South Korea in an attempt to avoid the last place in the group.

Romania’s male handball side Dinamo Bucharest has qualified for the semifinals of the European League, the second best inter-club competition after the Champions league. On Tuesday, the Romanian champions clinched a 38-34 away win against Danish side Skjern Handbold in the second round of the quarterfinals. The league’s Final Four tournament will be taking place in Hamburg over May 25th and 26th.

In women’s handball, Rapid Bucharest continue their fight for a second position in the Romanian championships, a position which can push them right into the Champions League. Rapid defeated Gloria Buzau 32-28 in an away match on Wednesday. Eliza Buceschi and Serbian player Anđela Janjušević each scored seven goals for the vice-champions. Diana Ilina also scored seven goals for Gloria. Rapid has three points ahead the side, which also aspires to the title, Gloria Bistriţa, with a game in hand. CSM Bucharest ranks first in the standings.

This weekend will be seeing matches counting towards the Romanian football Superleague. On Friday in Ovidiu, on the Romanian Black Sea coast, local side Farul will be up against Sepsi Sfantu Gheorghe.

On Sunday CFR Cluj plays Rapid Bucharest at home while on Monday, Universitatea Craiova, on their own turf, takes on FCSB. The Bucharest side is already champion, while Universitatea has the same number of points with CFR and are fighting for a second place, which ensures qualification for the preliminaries of the European Conference League.

On Saturday, FC Voluntari goes to Botoşani, and Dinamo plays in Cluj the local side Universitatea. On Sunday in Ploiesti, southern Romania, local side Petrolul is taking on Oţelul Galati. On Monday, Hermannstadt plays Poli Iaşi at home, while UTA receives FCU 1948. On the last positions in the ranking and fighting to avoid demotion are Poli Iaşi and Dinamo, each with 21 points. FC U Craiova has 22, FC Voluntari 23 and FC Botoşani – 24.

(bill)

2 May 2024
Sports Roundup

The Romanian athlete Laura Ilie won the bronze in the 10m air rifle women event of the ISSF World Championship on Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia. The former European champion got a very good score in the qualifiers, ranking 2nd with 631.4 points, but in the final she came out 3rd, with 260. The gold went to Eszter Meszaros (Hungary), and the silver to Polands Aneta Stankiewicz.

The Australian Open came to a close on Sunday. The winner of the mens competition was Novak Djokovic, and Arina Sabalenka won the womens competition. Of the Romanian participants, the best performance was Elena-Gabriela Ruses. She reached the semi-finals of the womens doubles, together with Marta Kostiuk of Ukraine. They were defeated in the semis by Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) seed no 1 and winners of this years final as well. But for Ruse and Kostiuk, this was the best performance in a Grand Slam.

In the Erste Liga, a local ice hockey competition, Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc Sunday defeated the Hungarian side Fehérvár Hockey Académia, 7-3. The Hungarian side also played on Friday, against Corona Braşov, and lost 3-5. Top of the ranking are ACSH Gheorgheni, with 75 points out of 34 matches, followed by Budapest Hockey Académia, with 73 points in 33 matches.

This weekend also saw football games counting towards the 23rd leg of the Romanian Super League. On Friday, Universitatea Cluj drew at home, 0 – 0, against Rapid Bucharest. On Saturday, CS Mioveni defeated UTA Arad, 2-1, while Chindia Târgovişte managed the same score away from home against Petrolul Ploieşti, and Universitatea Craiova beat FC Hermannstadt, 2-0.

On Sunday, FC Botoşani outplayed FC Argeş 2-0 and Farul Constanţa won against FCSB, 3-2 after overtime. The game pitting Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe against FC U Craiova was suspended on 26 minutes by the referee Andrei Chivulete, because of anti-Hungarian slogans chanted by the Craiova fans. It was for the first time that a national football championship match was suspended over extremist slogans. Farul Constanta are top of the tables with 48 points, followed by CFR, with 47. (AMP)

30 January 2023
Sports Roundup

The Romanian athlete Laura Ilie won the bronze in the 10m air rifle women event of the ISSF World Championship on Saturday in Jakarta, Indonesia. The former European champion got a very good score in the qualifiers, ranking 2nd with 631.4 points, but in the final she came out 3rd, with 260. The gold went to Eszter Meszaros (Hungary), and the silver to Polands Aneta Stankiewicz.

The Australian Open came to a close on Sunday. The winner of the mens competition was Novak Djokovic, and Arina Sabalenka won the womens competition. Of the Romanian participants, the best performance was Elena-Gabriela Ruses. She reached the semi-finals of the womens doubles, together with Marta Kostiuk of Ukraine. They were defeated in the semis by Barbora Krejcikova / Katerina Siniakova (Czech Republic) seed no 1 and winners of this years final as well. But for Ruse and Kostiuk, this was the best performance in a Grand Slam.

In the Erste Liga, a local ice hockey competition, Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc Sunday defeated the Hungarian side Fehérvár Hockey Académia, 7-3. The Hungarian side also played on Friday, against Corona Braşov, and lost 3-5. Top of the ranking are ACSH Gheorgheni, with 75 points out of 34 matches, followed by Budapest Hockey Académia, with 73 points in 33 matches.

This weekend also saw football games counting towards the 23rd leg of the Romanian Super League. On Friday, Universitatea Cluj drew at home, 0 – 0, against Rapid Bucharest. On Saturday, CS Mioveni defeated UTA Arad, 2-1, while Chindia Târgovişte managed the same score away from home against Petrolul Ploieşti, and Universitatea Craiova beat FC Hermannstadt, 2-0.

On Sunday, FC Botoşani outplayed FC Argeş 2-0 and Farul Constanţa won against FCSB, 3-2 after overtime. The game pitting Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe against FC U Craiova was suspended on 26 minutes by the referee Andrei Chivulete, because of anti-Hungarian slogans chanted by the Craiova fans. It was for the first time that a national football championship match was suspended over extremist slogans. Farul Constanta are top of the tables with 48 points, followed by CFR, with 47. (AMP)

30 January 2023
RRI Sports Club

Romania finished last out of the five sides that
competed in the Group A tournament of the Ice Hockey World
Championship Division I tournament hosted by Slovenia’s capital
Ljubljana between 3rd
and 8th
of May. Romania’s 20-man-squad also included six naturalised
players: goal keeper Patrik Polc from Slovakia, wingers Albert
Zagidulin and Evgeny Skachkovand
defender Timur
Rasulov from Russia, and the defenders Pavlo Borysenko and
Yevgeni Yemelyanenko
from Ukraine. Hugo Gecse and Patrik Machala, a naturalised player
from the Czech Republic, who were also initially capped
for the tournament, did not in the end travel to Slovenia. Another
naturalised player, Andrei
Taratukhin,
from Russia
did not show up for training, while the Czech player Radim Valchar
did not receive permission to play for Romania from the International
Ice Hockey Federation.

In their first match at the tournament in Slovenia, Romania
categorically lost to the host country 9-1. The match was only
balanced in the first period, which ended 1-all, with Evgeny Skachkov
scoring for Romania. Slovenia scored eight more times in the next two
periods, while Romania had no notable performance. In their second
match, Romania faced South Korea, losing 1-4. Romania’s only goal
was scored by Albert Zagidulin in the second period. In their third
match, Romania played against Lithuania. Despite putting on their
best best performance in the tournament, they narrowly lost 5-4.
Romania’s goals were scored by Evgeny Skachkov,Tamas Reszegh,
Zsombor Molnar and Szilard Rokaly. Romania played their fourth and
final match against Hungary, losing 4-2, with Roberto Gliga and
Robert Ferencz-Csib scoring for Romania.

Slovenia
finished the competition in the lead with 12 points, thus promoting
to the top division. Hungary finished second with 9 points, followed
by Lithuania in third place with 6 points and South Korea in fourth
place with 3 points. With zero points, Romania were in last place and
were relegated to Division II. (CM)

11 May 2022
RRI Sports Club

Romania finished last out of the five sides that
competed in the Group A tournament of the Ice Hockey World
Championship Division I tournament hosted by Slovenia’s capital
Ljubljana between 3rd
and 8th
of May. Romania’s 20-man-squad also included six naturalised
players: goal keeper Patrik Polc from Slovakia, wingers Albert
Zagidulin and Evgeny Skachkovand
defender Timur
Rasulov from Russia, and the defenders Pavlo Borysenko and
Yevgeni Yemelyanenko
from Ukraine. Hugo Gecse and Patrik Machala, a naturalised player
from the Czech Republic, who were also initially capped
for the tournament, did not in the end travel to Slovenia. Another
naturalised player, Andrei
Taratukhin,
from Russia
did not show up for training, while the Czech player Radim Valchar
did not receive permission to play for Romania from the International
Ice Hockey Federation.

In their first match at the tournament in Slovenia, Romania
categorically lost to the host country 9-1. The match was only
balanced in the first period, which ended 1-all, with Evgeny Skachkov
scoring for Romania. Slovenia scored eight more times in the next two
periods, while Romania had no notable performance. In their second
match, Romania faced South Korea, losing 1-4. Romania’s only goal
was scored by Albert Zagidulin in the second period. In their third
match, Romania played against Lithuania. Despite putting on their
best best performance in the tournament, they narrowly lost 5-4.
Romania’s goals were scored by Evgeny Skachkov,Tamas Reszegh,
Zsombor Molnar and Szilard Rokaly. Romania played their fourth and
final match against Hungary, losing 4-2, with Roberto Gliga and
Robert Ferencz-Csib scoring for Romania.

Slovenia
finished the competition in the lead with 12 points, thus promoting
to the top division. Hungary finished second with 9 points, followed
by Lithuania in third place with 6 points and South Korea in fourth
place with 3 points. With zero points, Romania were in last place and
were relegated to Division II. (CM)

11 May 2022
Sports Roundup

Romanian ice-hockey
team Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc on Sunday won the Erste Liga regional competition.
Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc emerged as winners of the trophy for the second year
running, having secured a 4-1 win in the final against Ferencvaros Budapest. In
the fifth game of the final, which actually decided Sport Club’s winning of the
trophy, the latter team grabbed a 5-3 home win against their Hungarian challengers.
Having played the final for the fourth consecutive year, Sport Club won the
trophy twice, in 2011 and 2021. In 2020, then the Erste Liga’s finalists, Sport
Club Miercurea Ciuc and Ferencvaros Budapest were both pronounced champions
because of the Covid-19 crisis. In 2019, Ferencvaros Budapest won the final
against Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc, 4-1.

CFR Cluj football
team have lost their first domestic championship fixture in the last six months.
Top-of-the-table CFR this past Sunday sustained a 2-3 away defeat by Universitatea
Craiova. The game counted as a fourth-round fixture in Group 1. Universitatea
Craiova’s Alexandru Creţu on 18 minutes drew first blood on the pitch. On 43
minutes, CFR’s Mihai Bordeianu provided the equalizer. Then 12 minutes into the
second half, CFR took the lead thanks to Claudiu Petrila’s goal. Universitatea
Craiova’s Jovan Markovic levelled the score on 69 minutes. A couple of seconds
from time, Universitatea’s Croat footballer, Ante Roguljic, put his team into
the lead and sealed the fate of the game. We recall that in Bucharest, in the
previous round, Universitatea Craiova secured a 2-nil away win against
runner-up team FCSB. Also in Group 1, on Saturday, in Pitesti, in the south,
Farul Constanta secured a 2-nil away win against the local team FC Arges. CFR
Cluj are still at the top pf the table, with 45 points. Following are FCSB,
with 37, and Universitatea Craiova, with 36 points.

In
Group 2, on Friday, in Clinceni, Chindia Târgovişte secured a 3-nil away win
against local side Academica. In Bucharest, FC U Craiova outclassed Dinamo, 2-1.
On Saturday in Arad, in the west, Rapid Bucharest secured
a 2-nil away win against local side UTA. On Sunday, FC Botoşani sustained a
nil-1 home defeat by Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. Rapid Bucharest are at the top of
the table, with cu 32 points. Following are Sepsi, with 30, and FC Botoşani,
with 29 points. With a minus of 13 points, bottom-of-the-table team Gaz Metan Medias
stands no chance to avoid relegation, and so is Academica Clinceni, with a mere
3 points on its record sheet. As of late, both teams have been repeatedly
downgraded because of unpaid debts. In another move, three teams are trying
really hard to avoid the two positions that take them to the playoffs. They are
Dinamo, with 13 points, CS Mioveni, with 19, and Chindia Târgovişte, with 22 points.

(EN)

11 April 2022
Sports Roundup

Romanian ice-hockey
team Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc on Sunday won the Erste Liga regional competition.
Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc emerged as winners of the trophy for the second year
running, having secured a 4-1 win in the final against Ferencvaros Budapest. In
the fifth game of the final, which actually decided Sport Club’s winning of the
trophy, the latter team grabbed a 5-3 home win against their Hungarian challengers.
Having played the final for the fourth consecutive year, Sport Club won the
trophy twice, in 2011 and 2021. In 2020, then the Erste Liga’s finalists, Sport
Club Miercurea Ciuc and Ferencvaros Budapest were both pronounced champions
because of the Covid-19 crisis. In 2019, Ferencvaros Budapest won the final
against Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc, 4-1.

CFR Cluj football
team have lost their first domestic championship fixture in the last six months.
Top-of-the-table CFR this past Sunday sustained a 2-3 away defeat by Universitatea
Craiova. The game counted as a fourth-round fixture in Group 1. Universitatea
Craiova’s Alexandru Creţu on 18 minutes drew first blood on the pitch. On 43
minutes, CFR’s Mihai Bordeianu provided the equalizer. Then 12 minutes into the
second half, CFR took the lead thanks to Claudiu Petrila’s goal. Universitatea
Craiova’s Jovan Markovic levelled the score on 69 minutes. A couple of seconds
from time, Universitatea’s Croat footballer, Ante Roguljic, put his team into
the lead and sealed the fate of the game. We recall that in Bucharest, in the
previous round, Universitatea Craiova secured a 2-nil away win against
runner-up team FCSB. Also in Group 1, on Saturday, in Pitesti, in the south,
Farul Constanta secured a 2-nil away win against the local team FC Arges. CFR
Cluj are still at the top pf the table, with 45 points. Following are FCSB,
with 37, and Universitatea Craiova, with 36 points.

In
Group 2, on Friday, in Clinceni, Chindia Târgovişte secured a 3-nil away win
against local side Academica. In Bucharest, FC U Craiova outclassed Dinamo, 2-1.
On Saturday in Arad, in the west, Rapid Bucharest secured
a 2-nil away win against local side UTA. On Sunday, FC Botoşani sustained a
nil-1 home defeat by Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe. Rapid Bucharest are at the top of
the table, with cu 32 points. Following are Sepsi, with 30, and FC Botoşani,
with 29 points. With a minus of 13 points, bottom-of-the-table team Gaz Metan Medias
stands no chance to avoid relegation, and so is Academica Clinceni, with a mere
3 points on its record sheet. As of late, both teams have been repeatedly
downgraded because of unpaid debts. In another move, three teams are trying
really hard to avoid the two positions that take them to the playoffs. They are
Dinamo, with 13 points, CS Mioveni, with 19, and Chindia Târgovişte, with 22 points.

(EN)

11 April 2022
Sports Weekend

Let’s
begin with tennis. Romanian no. one Simona Halep reached the third round at the
Australian Open after beating Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in straight sets, 6-2,
6-0, in a match that only lasted 66 minutes. She is the second Romanian player
to reach the third round in Melbourne, being joined by Sorana Cîrstea, who
defeated Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova.

In
the latest from women’s handball, the Romanian champions CSM Bucharest lost to
the French side Brest Bretagne 24-21 in a Champions League Group A match. In their
next group match, CSM will be playing at home against the German side Borussia
Dortmund on Saturday. CSM are fourth in the group ranking with 10 points. In other
news from women’s handball, SC Râmnicu Vâlcea will be playing the French side Chambray
Touraine away on Saturday, in an EHF European League Group D match. In Group B,
another Romanian side, Minaur Baia Mare, will play Nantes away in France, while
in Group C, Măgura Cisnădie will face the Russian side Lada Togliatti at home.

In the
Romanian ice hockey championship, Fenestela Brașov are playing ACSH Gheorgheni
on Sunday. SC Miercurea Ciuc top the ranking with 43 points, followed by ACSH
Gheorgheni with 41 points and CSM Galați with 31 points. Also
in ice hockey, two Romanian sides are playing on Friday in the Erste League: ACSH
Gheorgheni and Brașov Wolves, while on Saturday, in an all-Romanian match, Brașov
Wolves will be playing SC Miercurea Ciuc.

We’re
going to end this roundup with football, as the Romanian First League games are
resuming. In the championship’s 22nd leg, FC Argeș are facing Dinamo
Bucharest on Friday; Chindia Târgoviște are playing FC Voluntari and CSU
Craiova are playing Rapid Bucharest on Saturday; CS Mioveni are playing Academica
Clinceni, UTA Arad are playing Gaz Metan Mediaș and FCSB are playing CFR Cluj on
Sunday; while in the final two leg matches on Monday, FC Botoșani are playing
Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and Farul Constanța are playing FCU Craiova. CFR Cluj top
the ranking with 57 points, followed by FCSB with 47 points and by FC Voluntari
with 37. (CM)

21 January 2022
Sports Weekend

Let’s
begin with tennis. Romanian no. one Simona Halep reached the third round at the
Australian Open after beating Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in straight sets, 6-2,
6-0, in a match that only lasted 66 minutes. She is the second Romanian player
to reach the third round in Melbourne, being joined by Sorana Cîrstea, who
defeated Slovakia’s Kristina Kucova.

In
the latest from women’s handball, the Romanian champions CSM Bucharest lost to
the French side Brest Bretagne 24-21 in a Champions League Group A match. In their
next group match, CSM will be playing at home against the German side Borussia
Dortmund on Saturday. CSM are fourth in the group ranking with 10 points. In other
news from women’s handball, SC Râmnicu Vâlcea will be playing the French side Chambray
Touraine away on Saturday, in an EHF European League Group D match. In Group B,
another Romanian side, Minaur Baia Mare, will play Nantes away in France, while
in Group C, Măgura Cisnădie will face the Russian side Lada Togliatti at home.

In the
Romanian ice hockey championship, Fenestela Brașov are playing ACSH Gheorgheni
on Sunday. SC Miercurea Ciuc top the ranking with 43 points, followed by ACSH
Gheorgheni with 41 points and CSM Galați with 31 points. Also
in ice hockey, two Romanian sides are playing on Friday in the Erste League: ACSH
Gheorgheni and Brașov Wolves, while on Saturday, in an all-Romanian match, Brașov
Wolves will be playing SC Miercurea Ciuc.

We’re
going to end this roundup with football, as the Romanian First League games are
resuming. In the championship’s 22nd leg, FC Argeș are facing Dinamo
Bucharest on Friday; Chindia Târgoviște are playing FC Voluntari and CSU
Craiova are playing Rapid Bucharest on Saturday; CS Mioveni are playing Academica
Clinceni, UTA Arad are playing Gaz Metan Mediaș and FCSB are playing CFR Cluj on
Sunday; while in the final two leg matches on Monday, FC Botoșani are playing
Sepsi Sfântu Gheorghe and Farul Constanța are playing FCU Craiova. CFR Cluj top
the ranking with 57 points, followed by FCSB with 47 points and by FC Voluntari
with 37. (CM)

21 January 2022
RRI Sports Club

Set up in 2008 under the name Mol League, Erste League is an ice hockey competition which involves the participation of teams from Romania and Hungary. 11 teams are participating in this years edition, 3 from Romania and 8 from Hungary. The Romanian teams are SC Miercurea Ciuc, ACSH Gheorgheni, both from Harghita County, and Brașov Wolves, while the teams from Hungary are Deac, Dunaujvarosi, Jegesmedvek, FTC-Telekom, Mac, Titanok, Gyor and UTE. The 2008-2009, 2010-2011 and 2020-2021 editions were won by the Romanian team SC Miercurea Ciuc, the 2013-2014 edition by the Slovak team HC Nove Zamky, and the other 8 editions by teams from Hungary. The 2019-2020 edition was not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the last stage of the league, the Romanian teams won by playing on their own skating rinks. On Friday, Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc, the defending champion, won the derby with FTC-Telekom 4-1, and ACSH Gheorgheni beat Jegesmedvek 5-3. Brasov Wolves, Romania’s champions, won with the score of the day, 8-1 the match against Titanok. On Saturday, the Romanian teams repeated their successes. The holder of the Erste Liga title SC Miercurea Ciuc beat Titanok 8-6, and ACSH Gheorgheni defeated FTC-Telekom 4-1. Romanian’s champions Braşov Wolves won the match with Jegesmedvek, 5-4.

On Sunday, Miercurea Ciuc beat Jegesmedvek 3-2 after extra time, while ACSH Gheorgheni beat Titanok 4-2. The Brasov Wolves easily won the match with FTC-Telekom, score 6-2. In the ranking, the Romanian teams occupy leading positions. SC Miercurea Ciuc is on the first place with 81 points, ACSH Gheorgheni on the 3rd place with 68 points and Braşov Wolves on the 5th place with 60 points. The teams ranked on the first 8 places qualify for the playoffs. (LS)

19 January 2022
RRI Sports Club

Set up in 2008 under the name Mol League, Erste League is an ice hockey competition which involves the participation of teams from Romania and Hungary. 11 teams are participating in this years edition, 3 from Romania and 8 from Hungary. The Romanian teams are SC Miercurea Ciuc, ACSH Gheorgheni, both from Harghita County, and Brașov Wolves, while the teams from Hungary are Deac, Dunaujvarosi, Jegesmedvek, FTC-Telekom, Mac, Titanok, Gyor and UTE. The 2008-2009, 2010-2011 and 2020-2021 editions were won by the Romanian team SC Miercurea Ciuc, the 2013-2014 edition by the Slovak team HC Nove Zamky, and the other 8 editions by teams from Hungary. The 2019-2020 edition was not held due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In the last stage of the league, the Romanian teams won by playing on their own skating rinks. On Friday, Sport Club Miercurea Ciuc, the defending champion, won the derby with FTC-Telekom 4-1, and ACSH Gheorgheni beat Jegesmedvek 5-3. Brasov Wolves, Romania’s champions, won with the score of the day, 8-1 the match against Titanok. On Saturday, the Romanian teams repeated their successes. The holder of the Erste Liga title SC Miercurea Ciuc beat Titanok 8-6, and ACSH Gheorgheni defeated FTC-Telekom 4-1. Romanian’s champions Braşov Wolves won the match with Jegesmedvek, 5-4.

On Sunday, Miercurea Ciuc beat Jegesmedvek 3-2 after extra time, while ACSH Gheorgheni beat Titanok 4-2. The Brasov Wolves easily won the match with FTC-Telekom, score 6-2. In the ranking, the Romanian teams occupy leading positions. SC Miercurea Ciuc is on the first place with 81 points, ACSH Gheorgheni on the 3rd place with 68 points and Braşov Wolves on the 5th place with 60 points. The teams ranked on the first 8 places qualify for the playoffs. (LS)

19 January 2022
RRI Sports Club – Ice hockey

Romania’s ice
hockey championship this week will come to a close. On Thursday, the last match
will decide the Romanian champion. Corona Brașov will be pitted against Sports
Club Miercurea Ciuc. Right now, the score is 2-all, and the final is taking
place in the best out of five system. Miercurea Ciuc last week won the first
two games, both played in Brașov, winning 5-2 and 4-1. In Miercurea Ciuc, on Monday,
the host team was leading 3-nil after the first 20 minutes of play, and came
very close to actually winning the championship. Corona came back strong into
the second quarter, winning it 5-1. The third quarter ended 1-all, so the team
from Brașov eventually won 6-5. On Tuesday, in the fourth match of the final,
also played in Miercurea Ciuc, Corona evened the odds, winning 3-nil. The
deciding match will be played on Thursday in Brașov.

For Corona Brașov,
the spectacular comeback in the last two games also comes with the hope of getting
even after losing the final of the regional interclub competition Erste League,
also to Miercurea Ciuc. In early April, Sports Club won 4-2 overall, managing
to win the Erste League for the third time. Over the years, Erste League has
been won by two teams from Miercurea Ciuc, Hockey Club Csíkszereda, in 2009,
and Sports Club, in 2011 and 2020. SC Miercurea Ciuc played another three
finals in 2009, 2013 and 2019, which it all lost. In turn, Corona Brașov played
and lost a final in 2014. Last season, the competition was suspended in the
semi-finals due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and SC Miercurea Ciuc and Ferencváros
Budapest were declared winners. (V.P.)

5 May 2021
Sports weekend

We begin with news from ice hockey. In the ice hockey
Erste Liga regional competition, Miercurea Ciuc grabbed a 8-3 win against
Hungarian opponents Titanok, this past Thursday in Gyor. Scoring for Miercurea
Ciuc were Andrey Taratukhin, with a hattrick, John Anthony Combs, who scored
twice, then Tamas Laday, Tihamer Becze and Mathieu Tousignant scored one goal
each. Another Romanian team in Erste Liga, Corona Brasov sustained a 5-4 defeat
by Dunaujvarosi Acelbikak. Scoring for Corona were Carlo Finucci, who scored
twice, while Pavlo Borisenko and Cody Carlson scored one goal each. In another
Erste Liga fixture, Ferencvaros Budapest defeated CS Gheorgheni HC, 3-nil. Ferencvaros,
are at the top of the table, with 46 points. DEAC Debrecen is the runner-up
team with 45. Both teams have played a similar number of games, 23.

In news from rugby, Romania’s pool of regulars as of
January 10 begins their training session nearby Bucharest, in Izvorani, ahead
of the national team’s match against Belgium, to be played on February 7, 2021;
the pending fixture is part of the 2020 edition of the Rugby Union
Championship. 37 rugby players were call for in the training session in
Izvorani; all of them are signed up by domestic championship teams. The match
against Belgium will be venued by the Ion Oblemenco stadium in the southern
Romanian city of Craiova. According to the Romanian Rugby Federation, the match
will be played in an empty stadium. In the Rugby Europe Championship
as-it-stands table, Belgium and Romania are at the bottom of the table, in
descending order. If it still remains on the bottom position, Romania will have
a playoff fixture against the Netherlands on February 20 or 21st.
The match is crucial for Romania to retain its place in Tier 2 of European
rugby.

The 2021 season of the Rugby European Championship marks
the qualifiers’ kick-start ahead of the 2023 edition of the World Cup.

In women’s tennis, the first important tournament in
2021 is underway in Abu Dhabi; the event has 563, 530 USD up for grabs. At the moment, all Romanian women tennis players have been eliminated from the
competition. In the qualifiers’ last round, Irina Fetecau was defeated by
Italy’s Lucrezia Stefanini, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6. Sorana Cirstea was scheduled to play
in the first round, but she pulled out of competition because of an abdominal
injury.

(Translation by Eugen Nasta)

8 January 2021
Sports weekend

We begin with news from ice hockey. In the ice hockey
Erste Liga regional competition, Miercurea Ciuc grabbed a 8-3 win against
Hungarian opponents Titanok, this past Thursday in Gyor. Scoring for Miercurea
Ciuc were Andrey Taratukhin, with a hattrick, John Anthony Combs, who scored
twice, then Tamas Laday, Tihamer Becze and Mathieu Tousignant scored one goal
each. Another Romanian team in Erste Liga, Corona Brasov sustained a 5-4 defeat
by Dunaujvarosi Acelbikak. Scoring for Corona were Carlo Finucci, who scored
twice, while Pavlo Borisenko and Cody Carlson scored one goal each. In another
Erste Liga fixture, Ferencvaros Budapest defeated CS Gheorgheni HC, 3-nil. Ferencvaros,
are at the top of the table, with 46 points. DEAC Debrecen is the runner-up
team with 45. Both teams have played a similar number of games, 23.

In news from rugby, Romania’s pool of regulars as of
January 10 begins their training session nearby Bucharest, in Izvorani, ahead
of the national team’s match against Belgium, to be played on February 7, 2021;
the pending fixture is part of the 2020 edition of the Rugby Union
Championship. 37 rugby players were call for in the training session in
Izvorani; all of them are signed up by domestic championship teams. The match
against Belgium will be venued by the Ion Oblemenco stadium in the southern
Romanian city of Craiova. According to the Romanian Rugby Federation, the match
will be played in an empty stadium. In the Rugby Europe Championship
as-it-stands table, Belgium and Romania are at the bottom of the table, in
descending order. If it still remains on the bottom position, Romania will have
a playoff fixture against the Netherlands on February 20 or 21st.
The match is crucial for Romania to retain its place in Tier 2 of European
rugby.

The 2021 season of the Rugby European Championship marks
the qualifiers’ kick-start ahead of the 2023 edition of the World Cup.

In women’s tennis, the first important tournament in
2021 is underway in Abu Dhabi; the event has 563, 530 USD up for grabs. At the moment, all Romanian women tennis players have been eliminated from the
competition. In the qualifiers’ last round, Irina Fetecau was defeated by
Italy’s Lucrezia Stefanini, 1-6, 6-2, 7-6. Sorana Cirstea was scheduled to play
in the first round, but she pulled out of competition because of an abdominal
injury.

(Translation by Eugen Nasta)

8 January 2021