George Peternousek (born Jiri Petrnousek on 11 March 1947 in Komarov) is without a doubt one of the luminaries of Tilburg ice hockey. It is therefore not surprising that Tilburg Trappers has retired his number 9 as a tribute. George Peternousek met his Jeanne in Tilburg and he always remained loyal to the city. Even after the fall of communism, settling in the Czech Republic was not an option. George had become a true Tilburger. In the autumn of 1968, the junior team of Slavia Prague toured the Netherlands to play matches in Tilburg and Geleen, among others. On 25 October, the Tilburg fans saw a strong Slavia with strong players including centre Jaroslav Tuma and defender Jiri Petrnousek. Both managed to score against the yellow-blues in the Pellikaanhal. What few knew was that both players had decided to leave the then Czechoslovakia after the Prague Spring had been crushed and to flee to the free West during their tour through the Netherlands. Secret consultations took place in the Oisterwijk hotel Bosrand and the surrounding forests between the young duo and secretary Jack Herijgers and manager Joop van Morkhoven as representatives of T.IJ.SC Trappers. The agreement was that the players would quietly leave their hotel at night after the match in Geleen. They would be picked up outside by Herijgers and Van Morkhoven to be taken to Tilburg. And that is what happened. Tuma and Peternousek went into hiding in the shop of 'Frutje Maas' on the Goirkestraat, later known to many people as Maas Heeft 't. When the A-juniors of Slavia Prague had left our country, 'our' Czechs reported to the immigration police to request political asylum. A few days later, the duo received a residence permit for a year and the Dutch Ice Hockey Association also cooperated quite nicely. On December 18, Tuma and Peternousek were already eligible to play and could play for their new club TIJSC Trappers. In those first weeks, they played under the names Jerry Maas and George Peters. George Peternousek is seen as the best defense in the history of Tilburg Trappers. He plays 521 matches for Tilburg, in which he scores 376 goals and provides 705 assists. Impressive figures for a defender. After his naturalization, Peternousek becomes a prominent international and plays 83 matches for the Dutch team. In 1980, George was part of the legendary team that played at the Olympic Games in Lake Placid. After his active years as a player for Tilburg Trappers, Peternousek remains active in ice hockey as a trainer-coach. He becomes trainer-coach of Oranje U20, Smoke Eaters Geleen, HIJS Den Haag, Durham Wasps (England), White Caps Turnhout (Belgium), Buffalos Liège (Belgium) and later also national coach of Great Britain. After that he chooses a professional life outside of ice hockey. Peternousek worked for the Tilburg housing association Tiwos for many years. In 2014 George Peternousek was in ninth place on Lijst Smolders Tilburg in the municipal elections in Tilburg. As a list pusher, because he has no ambition to take a seat in the municipal council. In September 2022 George Peternousek will be one of the first players to be inducted into the Dutch Hockey Hall of Fame. In any case as the first player of Tilburg Trappers. The copyrights and other intellectual property rights to the videos, illustrations and other protected material on the YouTube channel of i13media. are vested in Prevanovi and the rights holders of that material respectively. In no event shall the aforementioned rights be transferred to any person or organization who gains access to this channel.