Ice Hockey. The national sport of Slovakia.

Sure, they might play a bit of football every now and then and Peter Sagan might be the cycling World Champion, but Ice Hockey is where the nation’s pride is at stake. That’s why any visitor to Bratislava, or anywhere else at all in Slovakia for that matter, should smash back a few beers and head on over to the Ice Arena.

Here’s how to survive the game and not get your head smashed in with a hockey stick.

 Drink Pivo…

That’s Slovakian, and Czech, for beer. And Serbian, Slovenian, Bosnian, Croatian…It’s pretty easy to order a beer in this part of the world once you’ve learnt this one magical word. At the Bratislava Ice Hockey Arena, the fans will smash a few back before the game in the bars around the stadium and once you get in you better join the Pivo queue before the game starts. Oh, and did I mention the beers are only 2 Euros a go? Compared to places like Wembley Stadium in London where you’ll pay almost 5 British Pounds for a small bottle, it’s quite simply incredible…

Sit with the Home Team…

Join the locals. You’re in their city after all. And you’ll get the best atmosphere. In Bratislava, the big team are HC Slovan. You can find a fixture list on their website. I just rocked up and bought a ticket at the home fan’s box office an hour before the game. For big games though, you’ll want to buy in advance.

HC Slovan play in the Kontinental Hockey League. This is the Premier League of Ice Hockey in Europe. Except that the teams come from as far afield as Kazakhstan and Moscow. In the picture above on the left you can see the one solitary away fan we saw in the away section. His team, Ugra Khanty-Mansiysk, had travelled all the way from the freezing desolation of Siberia to lose 6-0 to the sticks of HC Slovan. The away section is a lonely place to be…

Get a Scarf…

And swing it around like a madman when something exciting happens. And especially if your team score. Failing that just swing around whatever the hell you can get your hands on.

Learn some Chants…

They might not be in your native language, but it’s pretty easy to chant HC Slovan over and over again. Maybe add a bit of an accent for effect.

Don’t miss the half time show…

While not as extravagant as the Super Bowl half time show, it might just be hilariously entertaining. The home team constructed an elaborate human catapult with giant bungee ropes, and then proceeded to fling across the ice, to wild cheers, volunteers crammed inside small boxes, towards a set of traffic cones. It was human bowling on ice.

 Eat a hotdog…or some popcorn…

And then wash it down with some Pivo.

Drink more Pivo…

Especially if they score…or concede…

Drink if they win, drink if they lose…

Yet more Pivo of course…!

Follow this advice, and just maybe, you might just survive a Bratislavan Ice Hockey match.

Richard Collett

So where is this Ice Hockey Arena?

HC Slovan play at the ‘Ondrej Nepela Arena‘ in Bratislava. It’s outside the city centre, but only a half hour walk from the train station. Tickets for smaller games go for around 12 Euros and you can just turn up before the game and pick one up- as long as it isn’t the final of a competition of course! It’s a friendly atmosphere, so just join in the action!