The final matches of Slovenia's Ice Hockey League take place today and on Thursday. The two teams from Jesenice and Olimpija will face each other again after quite some time.

The last derby between the two sides took place almost two years ago, exactly 728 days ago. The ordeal of the Jesenice club reached its climax when the club itself stopped existing. However ice hockey enthusiasts from the town set up an amateur club called Team Jesenice.

"We can't say anything about the difference in strength between us or Olimpija, but I can say that like always, will give it our best and go out to win. We're not trying to hide our appetite for winning the championship title. That's the reason why we embarked on this journey in the national championship. We'll just have to wait and see what's going to happen on the ice. The double header is all about being first in the country. We don't care if our national league is less valued by others. The national championship title is big motivation for us," is what the captain of the Jesenice club, Miha Brus, told the club’s website.

"Olimpija surely has an advantage. Throughout the season they’ve played more difficult matches than us. They have lost some of their foreign players, but they still have two foreigners, and their experience of competing in a tougher league does give Olimpija an advantage. However there's big question mark whether our opponent will be truly motivated. Our biggest advantages ahead of the match are that our team is very closely connected, our team spirit, and maybe Olimpija underestimating us. The Ljubljana team is stronger on all positions but it's very difficult to make any kind of prediction ahead of the first match. We have a lot of young ice hockey players which will be highly motivated. It won't be that easy for Olimpija. At this moment I'd say we have a fify-fifty chance of success playing at home," added Brus.

Olimpija has only one goal – to end the first match with a sizeable lead, and only increase it on Thursday. The two teams met once before the season. At the Bled Summer League the Green and Whites were better with 4:1.
THE FINAL, first match

Today at 18.00:
TEAM JESENICE - TELEMACH OLIMPIJA

Return leg, Thursday at 19.15:
TELEMACH OLIMPIJA - TEAM JESENICE