The spookiest month of the year has come to a close. Things actually got a bit more normal in the Tauron Hokej Liga this month despite its theme. The best in Poland have regained their hold on the top spots, while the battle for the bottom half remains mostly competitive.

THL Standings

Team	GP	W	L	OTW	OTL	PTS	Goal Differential
GKS Katowice	16	13	0	3	0	45	+30
Unia Oswiecim	14	9	4	0	1	28	+22
JKH GKS Jastrzebie	15	8	4	1	2	28	+12
GKS Tychy	15	7	5	2	1	26	+9
KH Torun	15	6	7	1	1	21	-3
Podhale Nowy Targ	16	5	8	0	3	18	-16
Cracovia Krakow	15	3	7	3	2	17	-13
Zaglebie Sosnowiec	14	4	9	1	0	14	-6
STS Sanok	14	1	12	0	1	4	-35

THL Power Rankings

1. GKS Katowice (Sep. Rank – 1): Through the first two months of the season, the defending champs are undefeated in THL regular season action. The team did fall in the Super Cup, but the regular season results show that might have been a fluke… It is hard to see anyone finishing with a better regular season record, and it’s only November.
2. Unia Oswiecim (Sep. Rank – 2): Oswiecim proved they are the second-best team in the league, and the team is firing on all cylinders now. This included starting the month with a big 8-0 win over Torun, who were off to such a hot start. Nine players already have ten or more points this season.
3. JKH GKS Jastrzebie (Sep. Rank – 5) – Jastrzebie’s offense has come alive after a rough first month. They went from a minus-three goal differential in September to plus-12 in October. Their biggest win was finishing off the month with a 2-1 win over second-ranked Oswiecim. Filip Starzyński is rediscovering his offensive touch with six goals on the year.
4. GKS Tychy (Sep. Rank – 4) – Tychy made noise this month by defeating Katowice to win the SuperCup. In the THL, the results are still mixed. Lyszczarczyk already has 20 points, including 17 assists. Only three players have ten points or more. With 43 goals, they are second last in the league in goals for.
5. KH Torun (Sep. Rank – 3) – The Cinderella story has struck midnight, and changes are happening in Torun. After a strong start to the year, the team fell back to earth with a 3-5-1 record during October. Goaltending and defensive play was their downfall, especially with the offense regressing to the mean.
6. Zaglebie Sosnowiec (Sep. Rank – 7) – Sosnowiec has the ability to play everyone close, and if the offense was there, they might win more. More consistency is needed from the entire team, but Spesny did have a much better month in net.
7. Podhale Nowy Targ (Sep. Rank – 8) – The team is scoring a lot, and its star players are putting up points. As good as the offense has been, the defense has been as bad. The team leads the league in goals against, and Kevin Lindskoug has struggled. It is a hard thing to fix mid-season at this point.
8. Cracovia Krakow (Sep. Rank – 6) – A similar team to Podhale with a high-functioning offense but weak defense combined bad results in net. The imports are getting it done for Cracovia, while young Polish players are not providing the depth the team hoped for.
9. STS Sanok (Sep. Rank – 9) – Sanok failed to win a game all month. They have now lost two import defenders for the the year while Conor MacEachern tries to do all he can. On the bright side, some new reinforcements are coming for November.

THL Players of the Month

October MVP – Marcin Kolusz (JKH GKS Jastrzebie). Kolusz is our MVP for October. Jastrezbie needed someone to step up, and Kolusz did that with six goals and three assists in seven games. Kolusz can move all over the ice, and his goal-scoring was a huge reason for his club shooting up the standings.

Forward – Joona Monto (GKS Katowice). Monto plays everywhere for Katowice and is a significant part of keeping the champs perfect on the year. He had 12 points (5G-7A-12PTS) this month and is now second in the league for scoring.

Defenseman – Phil Kiss (Podhale Nowy Targ). Kiss joined Podhale right at the start of the season. It took him some time to get used to Podhale, but he turned in a great month. The leading defender for Podhale posted six points (2G-4A-6PTS) in eight games.

Goalie – Linus Lundin (Unia Oswiecim). Lundin has had to make the third most saves this year. Despite that, he is tied for the league lead in save percentage with a fantastic .938 SV% mark in 13 games.

U23 Player – Mateusz Bezwiński (Cracovia Krakow). It’s been a rough year for U23 players, and a lot are failing to find ways to make an impact. Bezwiński has found a way to set up his teammates in Cracovia and posted six assists in nine games this past month.

October’s Top Stories

Oct 5th. Polish national team star and Podhale forward Damian Kapica suffered a knee injury that required a minor procedure. The major free agent signing will be out six weeks and expected to return in late November.

Oct 6th. Podhale Nowy Targ found their new coach in Sami Hirvonen. The 49-year-old Fin was a long-time coach in Finland. He has three years of experience as a head coach in the U20 SM-Liiga and 11 years as a head or assistant coach in the Liiga and Metsis. His experience at the top level of Finland should be key in developing Polish talent and connections for future import additions.

Oct. 7th. The league would see the second coaching change of the year as GKS Tychy let go of Andrei Sidorenko. The long-time Belarusian coach was in his second year with the club. The offense had struggled mightily, and the team felt a change was needed. Adam Bagiński took over as the interim coach. He would not hold that position for long, as the club appointed Pekka Tirkkonen as the new head coach on Oct. 15th. Tirkkonen has an impressive resume being a head coach in the DEL, Liiga, National League, Metsis, and top Danish League. He was the 2014 Liiga coach of the year.

Oct. 16th. After less than two years away from the sport, Marek Strzyżowski returned to hockey and signed with Sanok. The veteran Pole could be a valuable part of the team and provide leadership through the losing times. He quickly made his presence felt on the ice physically.

Oct. 18th. GKS Tychy would win the 2023 Super Cup over GKS Katowice. Bartosz Ciura scored the game-winning goal with just under two minutes to play. It was the first time Katowice took a defeat all season. The game reached a peak viewership of 108,000, the highest going back to 2020. On average, 36,000 people watched the game.

Oct. 26th. Jarosław Rzeszutko announced his retirement after 18 professional hockey seasons. The Gdansk native was a star early in his career for his hometown, Stoczniowiec Gdansk. He then tried his hand abroad, appearing in the EIHL and Ligue Magnus. He returned to Poland and would play mainly with GKS Tychy. He spent his final two seasons with Zaglebie Sosnowiec. He recorded 569 points in 709 games in Poland. Rzeszutko is a four-time Polish champion and represented Poland at three World Championships.

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