The 2016 Ales Hrebesky Memorial box lacrosse tournament is going down this week and weekend in Radotin (just out side Prague) in the Czech Republic! The AHM (or MAH depending on what language you speak) is an amazing tourney. Teams come from all over Europe and North America each year, and box lacrosse mania takes over the beautiful town of Radotin.
Here’s a quick video that shows off just how epic the tournament truly is:
Yeah, it’s awesome. And 2016 looks just as good as ever!
2016 Ales Hrebesky Memorial
First up, a quick group by group preview of the 2016 Memorial. THEN, a link to where you can watch LIVE and archived games. The stream quality is awesome. WATCH IT IF YOU CAN!
Group A – Ladner Pioneers (CAN), Istanbul Sultans (TUR), Polish Eagles (POL) – Ladner is the heavy favorite to win this group, and do so easily. They have never finished lower than 5th place (in 3 years) and won it all in 2015. Their opponents are physical, but so is Ladner, and they also have a ton of skill and box know-how. The real match up here is for 2nd place. Istanbul vs Eagles should be a knock down, drag out fight.
Group B – Green Gaels (CAN), Turku Titans (FIN), Helan Gar (SWE) – Green Gaels will win this group, and again, the battle for second should be intense. GG have made six trips to Prague, never finished below 5th, and have won it all twice, in 2007, and 2010. They have finished second in the last two Memorials.
Group C – Goldstar Tel Aviv (ISR), TJ Malesice (CZE), Bats Bratislava (SLO) -This is an awesome group. You have long-time Czech club TJM, continually improving Bratislava, and a team from Israel that plays fast, hard, and shoots, shoots, shoots. This is a group to watch, and could have some surprises!
Group D – Megamen (USA), Vienna Monarchs (AUS), Chocolax (SUI) – Megamen are the heavy favorites in this group and I don’t see them dropping a game. Vienna has improved greatly and can not be overlooked. The Swiss will get a good challenge in this group, playing against highly experience sides, but don’t count them out against Vienna.
Group E – Bundeswehr Lacrosse (GER), Nova Scotia Privateers (CAN), Glasgow Clydesiders (SCO) – Nova Scotia is the favorite out of this group, but Glasgow will play physical lacrosse, and so will the Bundeswehr guys. These group games should be fun to watch and provide good benchmarks and competition for the Group winner. No guarantees in this group, and Brian Witmer is playing for Glasgow!
Group F – SK Lacrosse Jižní Město (CZE), London Knights (ENG), Deutschland Adler (GER) – This might be the most balanced group in the whole tournament, and honestly, calling a favorite now is going to be hard!
Group G – LC Custodes (CZE), Riggers Lacrosse (IRL), Team Alberta (CAN) – LCC is the favorite here. They play well at home, have a deep roster of conditioned guys, and play their game no matter what. That being said, this is a group with some potential for fun. What can Alberta do? How good will Ireland be?
2016 AHM – WATCH LIVE!
If you go to the Memorial’s website, games will be streaming live there. Games will start up around 1 or 2 AM Eastern Time and run through 2 or 3pm Eastern. The All-Star game is always a must watch, as are the semis and finals. Of course all the games are good…
You can then access archived games on their YouTube channel. Easy AND awesome!