Rosice near Brno experienced a wave of hockey euphoria in the late 1990s and turn of the millennium. The team from the city of 6,000 rolled over in the first league and even knocked on the extra league gates. However, Senator Rosice ended up stuck with financial difficulties and a dispute with the town hall, so after a forced departure to ár nad Sázavou, they disappeared from the professional hockey club map. Few people experience as much at Rosice as Petr Hrachovina. The former goalkeeper spent almost ten years at the local stadium and endured big wins and falls to the bottom with the club.
The professional hockey journey began with Rosice’s hockey in the 1990s. Founded just before the start of World War II, the club first won promotion to the Second League in 1994, where it operated steadily for several seasons. But the greatest moments of fame came only in the late nineties. In 1998, the team’s management bought the first league license from Prostějov, so the South Moravian hockey team suddenly qualified for the professional competition, where there were no points at all. Otherwise.
As the guests climb the hill
At one point, Rosice chased the top of the league, led by Liberec, Chomutov or Znojmo. Especially. The Senator’s jersey is worn by names such as extra league champion Miroslav Barus, former Zlín goalkeeper Richard Hrazdíra or Brno breeder Pavel Nohel, who started his career almost three hundred games in the top competition. Not only thanks to her sturdy stick, Rosice was trampled on by her opponent.
“Our home stadium plays a big role. No one likes to come here because of the twisted ice. When the puck is in the middle, he advances. Opponents play two thirds uphill. People were shouting at him from every side, and especially from the guests’ dressing room, where the stone core was,“Remember today the 52-year-old goalkeeper, who always enters the game wearing the grid helmet of the popular Swedish brand Jofa.
Hrachovina herself is one of the main characters in the team. He arrived in Rosice by accident, when Ingstav Brno sold the license to Přerov. However, they didn’t care about the natives of the Moravian metropolis, so he wasn’t enthusiastic about accepting the regional league member’s offer. In the end, though, he enjoyed all the key moments with the Senators, like advancing to a second league or slamming in front of a sold-out auditorium. The most famous eras are associated with the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 seasons, when the Rosic family even made it to the semifinals. But South Moravia wasn’t quite there for Chomutov, where they lost 3:1 in the game.
Villagers destroy Comet
For Hrachovina and many other players, the derby with the Třebíč and Brno teams was also one of the best experiences. Two play the first league. The more famous comet usually fights the tail of the table with its rival Ytong. The two teams then went to the match in the stadium twenty meters away. And Rosice’s winter with more than two thousand spectators rioted.
“We dominated that time. There is money, great players and management that leads everything in a spirit of family and friendship. The team from Brno didn’t get to our ankles with pardons then, Kometa from the league even fell. Of course there is competition between us because they think of us as villagers. But we showed them how to play hockey. Brno fans make an incredible mess, time and time again trash cans or smokehouses land on the ice,“In view of the sharp sword Hrachovina, who is still loyal to his hockey skills and devoted himself to young goalkeepers or is still catching up in Boskovice, who plays regional competitions.
Hockey goalkeeper in front of Rosice’s winter entrance Ladies and gentlemen, hockey players are coming
The hockey players are in a small town for local celebrities. After winning a match, fans welcome the player to a pub or discotheque with open arms. “Those were beautiful times. There’s nothing here but hockey. We came to the pub and immediately someone invited us for a beer or a drink. Sometimes the events drag on and we end up in a chateau at a local disco. When the disc jockey saw us, he immediately greeted the players and reported: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the hockey player is coming’. On the other hand, when that didn’t work, the same guy almost poured us beer. But this is also normal in life“The word” Hrášek “with a dose of nostalgia saw the “already icy surface” leveled, where he experienced unhappy moments.
“Sometimes I get hit here, but I prefer to remember successful matches. After all, when we fail, the referees often catch it from players, coaches and officials. They have a dressing room next to the cabin of the house. I’m not envious of their work at that timehe said laughing.
Memories of the most successful season at Rosice When will the paycheck come?
Reality finally puts an end to the sports tale of Brno. The problem was, for example, a long-standing dispute with the city hall, which culminated in late 2001. The city terminated the contract with the owner of the winter stadium, so the club headed to ár nad Sázavou to finish the season. In addition, the sunken ship was abandoned by sponsors, whose money often did not come from legitimate business activities, so hockey players found themselves without income for several months.
“It was talked about in the cabin weeks before the move finally happened. We have signed a contract, so we have no choice. No payment. For example, I don’t see the crown from November to March. In the end, I managed to get them all back, but the others weren’t so lucky. At the same time, as a club, we fought for the playoffs until the last round“Recalls a man from the goal area in the final somersault, where his son Dominik, currently defending Budějovice’s eské colours, continued with success.
In the stadium, for example, the VIP box, where the original furniture or the club logo is located, recalls the golden age of Rosice’s hockeyA memento after twenty years
After a season at the ár sanctuary, professional hockey at Rosice is definitely ringing. Twenty years later, Hrachovina sees the club’s fate peacefully. “Maybe not the other way around. But a much bigger hockey fortress fell. Look, for example, where Chomutov, Kada or Opava are today“Adding the example of a Czech team that previously operated in a professional competition.
He himself hoped that hockey in Rosice would also improve, where only the Zastávky team, operating in district competitions, played their home games. “It is deeply regretted. The stadium deserves an adjustment, as almost nothing has changed here in those twenty years. Then at least regional leagues can play here,“Witnesses to the golden age of hockey at Rosice are hopeful.
Goalkeeper Hrachovina almost lived in Rosice’s cabin for ten years. Always in the corner, which he signed after leaving the club
“Certified bacon geek. Evil social media fanatic. Music practitioner. Communicator.”
