Tappara Tampere goalie Dominik Hrachovina made his A-team debut last Tuesday and backstopped his team to a 2-1 win, which now gives the club a great chance to win Group E. Afterward, he talked about the experience.

by Daniel Jezek

A player never forgets his first big-league game. For 20-year-old goaltender Dominik Hrachovina, that came last Tuesday when he started in goal for Tappara Tampere. Not only was it his first game in the Champions Hockey League, but it was also his first game for Tappara's A-team. It came before ever playing a game in Liiga.

“Four days before the game I had no idea that I'd be playing in Trinec,“ the netminder began, telling the story that led him to starting between the pipes in a must-win game for his team. “On Friday I played a game in the second-highest Finnish league and on Saturday evening I was told that the next day I'd play for the junior team and then go to the Helsinki airport. Then on Monday we flew to the Czech Republic.“

In his very first competitive game for Tappara, he was a star. Trinec just needed a win to clinch first place in Group E and out-shot Tappara 32-20. Hrachovina, however, stopped 31 of the shots directed at him, helping his team to a huge 2-1 win.

However, Hrachovina himself restrained his euphoria. "I'm happy about my performance, that's for sure. But it's still only a hockey game and we still catch the same black puck, so it's nothing special,“ he said calmly before continuing. “The main thing is we won.“

While others praised his performance, Hrachovina was quick to give credit to the team play and hard work of the players around him. “We have a lot of young players, but we are certainly motivated,” he explained, talking about how much everybody wanted to win. “I don't think anybody is approaching these CHL games as friendlies.“

Praising teammates is a common trait in goaltenders, as is staying cool under pressure, which Hrachovina did in Trinec and it showed in his demeanor afterward. “I wasn't even nervous, I enjoyed the game very much. It's just all about playing and enjoying hockey as it is, because we love this sport.“

What made the game even more special is the proximity of the game to his home. Hrachovina is from Brno, 160 kilometres from Trinec, making it a lot more convenient for family and friends to watch live than travelling to Finland. That's where Hrachovina moved at the age of 15 to further his career. Since then he has climbed the ladder in the Tappara system, making the Junior A SM-Liiga all-star team in 2013-14.

“They have their system which works if you follow it,” Hrachovina said about the system Finland has in developing world-class goalies. “It can be seen in the NHL or KHL, where there are a lot of Finnish goalies playing.“

This year he is doing great. In Mestis, the second-highest Finnish league, he has played three games so far with a remarkable save percentage of .961, which is probably what has earned him this shot with Tappara. If he continues his strong play, it certainly won't be his last game with the A-team.

“I really enjoyed it. Playing for the main Tappara team was something special for me. In addition, it showed me that I'm on the right path to getting into the Liiga.“