PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC — Tel Aviv’s campaign in the 2016 Aleš Hřebeský Memorial came to an abrubt halt on Thursday afternoon as the Nova Scotia Privateers topped the Israelis, 5-4 in a first-round playoff match at LCC Radotin.
The Israelis led 1-0 at the half on the backs of Andrew Copeland, who was a brick wall for Tel Aviv. Nova Scotia got on the board early in the scond half and built 4-2 and 5-3 leads. Bryan Hopper scored for Tel Aviv with 31 seconds remaining, and, Israel had some late chances but couldn’t convert to force a shootout.
Hopper (two goals, one assist) led Tel Aviv, while Jacob Silberlicht (one goal, one assist), Aaron Tracy (one goal), Danny Bialosky (one assist) and Kyle Bergman (one assist) also chipped in. Copeland (30:00, 19 saves, 5 GA) was dealt the loss in goal.
Earlier in the day, Tel Aviv topped Czech club TJ Malešice, 2-1, to win Group C. Bradley Diamond and Bialosky scored one goal each, while Tracy added an assist. Copeland (30:00, 17 saves, 1 GA) earned the win in goal and earned Bialosky Cleveland MVP honors.
Caps x2 – Kyle Bergman, Danny Bialosky, Andrew Copeland, Bradley Diamond, Aaron Feinberg, Chris Friedman, Bryan Hopper, Frantisek Klima, Steve Laforet, Chris Leone, Cooper Levitan, Seth Mahler, Franklin Pargh, Jonathan Rathauser, Jeffrey Schwartz, Jacob Silberlicht, Aaron Tracy
Caps x1 – Joshua Bernstein, Eric Kansky, Andrew Landsman, Glen Tobin