Eurolanche

Eurolanche Invasion IX announced

During its tenth season in existence, Eurolanche, the first European and the biggest Fan Club of the Colorado Avalanche, is organizing its ninth trip to Colorado. The Eurolanche Invasion IX will take place between January 12 and January 26, 2017. During their two-week stay, the participating Fan Club members will attend seven Avalanche games, with two of them being away games and travel thousands of miles. Aside from visiting the most interesting places in Colorado, the participants will also make a trip to Los Angeles and San Francisco. 

“There’s been a lot of interest in the Eurolanche Invasion trips in recent years. Our members pre-register for the next trip while the current trip is still underway. That’s why we want to improve each future Invasion. The ninth Invasion will be different in many ways. We’ll be spending four days on the West Coast and attend two away games of the Avalanche. I’m glad that a new group of people, who weren’t a part of the previous Invasions, will get to experience the trip,” said Eurolanche Founder and President David Puchovsky.

Eurolanche Invasion IX official logo.

The second-highest number of Fan Club members – ten from four different countries – will take part in the Fan Club’s most popular project. For President Puchovsky, this Invasion will mark his eight (and record) trip to Denver. For the first time since the Eurolanche Invasions became annual trips, the Fan Club President won’t be joined by anyone, who’s previously been a part of the project. For the other nine participants, this won’t only be their first Eurolanche Invasion, but also their very first trip to the US. Slovakia will be represented by Dodo Mikulcik, Rasto Bero and Peter Nemec. Joining the Invasion from the Czech Republic are web administrator Jakub Klos, Marian Nikl, Ladislav Solnicky and Michal Zdrazil. For the first time, Fan Club members from Finland and Hungary will take part in the project, as Marko Keipi and Barnabas Palotai from Finland and Hungary, respectively, will be part of the trip. 

The participants will attend their first game on the same day of their arrival, as they’ll be in the stance for the game against the Anaheim Ducks. Afterwards, they’ll attend two more home games – against the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks. Following will be a four-day stay in Los Angeles, where the participants will make several trips to the surrounding cities, including to San Francisco.  During their stay, they will attend two away games against the Ducks and the San Jose Sharks. This will be the highest number of attended away games in the project’s history. Until now, the participating members attended two away games in total – in Minnesota during Invasion V and in Chicago during Invasion VII. After their return to Denver, the participants will attend two more home games – against the Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks. The total of attended games will thus reach seven for the fifth year in row. This series began during Invasion V, when the participating members saw two teams twice in four games, which will be repeated during Invasion IX. The participants will attend a game against the Canucks for the first time. Other teams the Avalanche will face during the course of the trip already had Eurolanche members in attendance during the past (Eurolanche members will visit their third and fourth game against the Ducks, their third against the Predators, their fourth and fifth against the Sharks and their sixth against the Blackhawks).

Ten of twelve Eurolanche members who attended the summer meeting in Czech Republic will be a part of the Eurolanche Invasion IX.

Aside from their trip to the West Coast, the participants will be making a number of trips during the remaining ten days in Colorado. Aside from traditional sites like the Red Rocks amphitheater, the Rocky Mountains or downtown Denver, the participants will visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park, the Keystone Winter Park and the Royal Gorge Bridge for the first time in Invasion history. Part of the program of the Invasion are a tour of the Pepsi Center, attending training sessions, buying countless souvenirs and memorabilia, meetings with current and former Avalanche players and more. The whole program of the Invasion will be published in the near future.

The Eurolanche Invasion IX will be primarily covered at Invasion.Eurolanche.com (live coverage, diaries in five different languages), on Facebook and Twitter (live coverage, photos/videos) and at Eurolanche.com (daily summaries, special articles). For the second year in row, fans in Europe can follow the Invasion via live video feeds on Facebook and via Periscope. Aside from reporting about the trip itself, the participating members will inform their American friends and supporters from Colorado about daily activities and where they’ll be staying in order for them to meet up with them at any time. Various competitions for souvenirs and Avs players’ autographs will be held for Fan Club members at home in Europe, about which they’ll be informed in advance. 

The Eurolanche Invasion has been annually held since 2008, the only exception being the 2010/11 season. After Invasion IX, the number of participants will climb up to 54 from nine following countries: Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Romania, Switzerland, Hungary and Finland. After eight Invasions, the record of the Avalanche after 56 attended games currently sits at 33-14-2. Registration for the Eurolanche Invasion X planned for the 2017/18 season will start during Invasion IX in accordance with the rules of the project. 

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Eurolanche Meeting in Czech Republic

Members of the Fan Club had a meeting in city of Brno.