| Hockey Punks Vilnius | |
 | |
| City | Vilnius, Lithuania |
|---|---|
| League | Lithuania Hockey League |
| Founded | 2007[1] |
| Home arena | Pramogų Arena[2][3] |
| Colors | Black, red, white |
| Head coach |  Mindaugas Kieras |
Website Hockey Punks | |
Hockey Punks Vilnius is an ice hockey team located in Vilnius, Lithuania, which plays in the Lithuania Hockey League, the top tier of ice hockey in Lithuania. They play home games at the Pramogų arena.
History[]
Hockey Punks Vilnius were founded in 2007 when Lithuanian national team players Mindaugas Kieras, Šarūnas Kuliešius and Martynas Šlikas started popularising the sport in the capital.[1] Interest in the sport further increased following the launch of 'Heat on Ice' on Tango TV.[1] Heat on Ice was a weekly show covering the latest hockey news and highlights from around the world, with celebrity guests.[4] One of these guests was G&G Sindikatas rapper Gabrielius 'Svaras' Liaudanskas who would go on to be a prominent supporter of the team, often promoting Hockey Punks in interviews.[1] Svaras would subsequently play for the team for 6 years,[5][6] as did his bandmate Andrius 'Pushaz' Glušakovas.[1][7]
Initially, Hockey Punks focused solely on training, before ultimately joining the Lithuanian second tier in 2010.[1] Their first season was a tough one, only winning one game whilst suffering a goal difference of -41.[8] Three seasons later, Hockey Punks were admitted to the Lithuania Hockey League, where they have played since. During their time in the NLRL, Hockey Punks have not won the league, however, they have lost in the playoff finals on two occasions; in 2016 and 2019.[3]
Between 2013 and 2017 former NHL star and Olympic gold medalist Darius Kasparaitis played sporadically for the Hockey Punks in order to qualify for the Lithuanian national team, having previously represented Russia.[9][10] During this time with the team Kasparaitis played 7 games for the Hockey Punks, registering 22 points.[11]
In 2020 Hockey Punks took part in the inaugural Baltic Hockey League, a competition made up of two teams from each of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.[12] The team finished 2nd in their group after beating Estonian side HC Everest, but losing to Latvia's HK Liepāja,[13] and therefore qualified for the final round, scheduled for February 2021.
Roster[]
Updated January 22, 2021.[3]
| Goaltenders | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Catches | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 95 |
|
Simas Baltrunas | L | 2017 | - |
| 90 |
|
Maksim Cizevskij | L | 2020 | - |
| Defencemen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Acquired | Place of Birth | ||
| 72 |
|
Karolis Andrikonis | L | 2012 | - | |
| 94 |
|
Rokas Bacevicius | L | 2013 | - | |
| 35 |
|
Andrius Budreika | L | 2020 | - | |
| 68 |
|
Domas Janusonis | L | 2020 | - | |
| 5 |
|
Jaunius Jasinevicius | R | 2020 | Rokiškis, Lithuania | |
| 2 |
|
Lukas Jonuska | - | 2019 | Klaipėda, Lithuania | |
| 27 |
|
Lukas Manomaitis | L | 2020 | - | |
| 24 | 
|
Sergei Markovsky | L | 2018 | Minsk, Belarus | |
| 17 |
|
Valdas Pikcius | L | 2014 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania | |
| 19 |
|
Dovydas Vaisovas | L | 2010 | - | |
| Forwards | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Player | Shoots | Position | Acquired | Place of Birth | |
| 16 |
|
Mauras Baltrukonis | R | RW/LW | 2019 | - |
| 99 |
|
Aivaras Bendžius | L | F | 2012 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 79 |
|
Donatas Dirginčius | R | F | 2010 | - |
| 31 |
|
Dominykas Jurjevas | R | F | 2020 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 8 |
|
Modestas Kartenis | R | F | 2010 | - |
| 15 |
|
Laisvydas Kudrevicius | L | F | 2018 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 80 |
|
Sarunas Kuliešius | R | C/RW | 2014 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 89 |
|
Alexei Kuveko | L | F | 2019 | Minsk, Belarus |
| 26 |
|
Denis Kuzminov | L | LW | 2020 | Klaipėda, Lithuania |
| 25 |
|
Martynas Miliunas | L | C/RW | 2020 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 18 |
|
Marius Rankauskas | L | F | 2017 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 21 |
|
Martynas Slikas | L | C | 2015 | Rokiškis, Lithuania |
| 7 |
|
Eimantas Steponavicius | R | F | 2019 | Trakai, Lithuania |
| 62 |
|
Ernestinas Truksnys | L | LW/RW | 2017 | - |
| 93 |
|
Domantas Varnys | R | F | 2020 | - |
| 81 |
|
Povilas Verenis | R | RW | 2019 | Elektrėnai, Lithuania |
| 13 |
|
Algimantas Visockas | L | F | 2014 | Kaunas, Lithuania |
Season-by-season record[]
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
| Season | GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | Pts | GF | GA | Finish | Playoffs |
| 2015-16 | 24 | 16 | 6 | — | 0 | 2 | 50 | 130 | 89 | 2nd | Final loss |
| 2016-17 | 20 | 10 | 9 | — | 1 | 0 | 32 | 87 | 32 | 3rd | Semi-final loss |
| 2017-18 | 20 | 10 | 8 | — | 0 | 2 | 32 | 91 | 32 | 3rd | Semi-final loss |
| 2018-19 | 18 | 5 | 11 | — | 2 | 0 | 19 | 51 | 78 | 3rd | Final loss |
| 2019-20 | 18 | 12 | 4 | — | 1 | 1 | 39 | 120 | 64 | 2 | Playoffs cancelled |
Team records[]
Career[]
These are the top five scorers in Hockey Punks history.[3]
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points
| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts |
| Šarūnas Kuliešius | F | 104 | 44 | 88 | 132 |
| Edgar Rybakov | F | 63 | 51 | 76 | 127 |
| Karolis Šlikas | F | 94 | 53 | 68 | 121 |
| Algimantas Visockas | F | 98 | 47 | 45 | 92 |
| Mindaugas Kieras | D | 46 | 25 | 41 | 66 |
Penalty minutes: Modestas Kartenis, 188
Season[]
Regular season[]
- Most goals in a season: Edgar Rybakov, 21(2017–18)
- Most assists in a season: Edgar Rybakov, 29 (2017–18)
- Most points in a season: Edgar Rybakov, 50 (2017–18)
- Most penalty minutes in a season: Lukas Jonuska, 90 (2019–20)
Playoffs[]
- Most goals in a playoff season: Mindaugas Kieras, 6 (2017–18)
- Most assists in a playoff season: Sarunas Suchomlinas, 10 (2017–18)
- Most points in a playoff season: Mindaugas Kieras, 11 (2017–18)
- Most penalty minutes in a playoff season: Sergei Markovsky, 31 (2018–19)
Notable players[]
- Darius Kasparaitis
- Gabrielius 'Svaras' Liaudanskas
- Andrius 'Pushaz' Glušakovas
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Vilniaus Hockey Punks nežada sustoti (lithuanian). Sportland Magazine (December 18, 2005).
- ↑ Hockey Punks on Facebook (english). HockeyArenas.net (January 24, 2020).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Hockey Punks (english). EliteProspects.com.
- ↑ Tango TV – laida apie ledo ritulį "Karštis ant ledo" (lithuanian). Delfi (October 13, 2006).
- ↑ Gabrielius Svaras Liaudanskas (english). EliteProspects.com.
- ↑ Lietuvos ledo ritulio čempionate – reperio Svaro įvartis (lithuanian). Delfi (December 3, 2012).
- ↑ Andrius Glušakovas (english). EliteProspects.com.
- ↑ Elite Prospects - Team Standings Lithuania2 (english). EliteProspects.com.
- ↑ Darius Kasparaitis putting retirement on hold to join Lithuanian national team (english). The Hockey News (January 17, 2016).
- ↑ Kasparaitis Is Playing for More Than a Paycheck (english). TheHockeyWriters.com (November 18, 2017).
- ↑ Darius Kasparaitis (english). EliteProspects.com.
- ↑ Baltic Hockey League finally start (english). EuroHockey.com (November 16, 2020).
- ↑ Lietuva always h`ockey! (lithuanian). Lithuanian Ice Hockey Federation.
External links[]
- Official website (in Lithuanian)
- Hockey Punks Vilnius on Facebook
 Ice hockey in Lithuania | |
|---|---|
| Lithuania Hockey League: | SC Energija - Poseidonas Elektrenai - Sporto Centras Elektrenai - Pioner Kaliningrad |
| Other articles: | Lithuanian Ice Hockey Federation - Lithuania men's national ice hockey team - Lithuania men's national junior ice hockey team |
| Related articles: IIHF - IIHF Continental Cup - IIHF European Champions Cup | |
| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Hockey Punks Vilnius. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA). |