2024-04-07 05:15:42
Sparta Prague is dominating in the playoffs of the hockey extra league and has won seven matches in a row. In the semi-final against Třinec, they are already leading 3-0, unlike last year, they are managing the key moments and the ruler from recent years has a bucket ready. “But we will never give up,” said Třinec coach Zdeněk Moták after Saturday’s 2:3 overtime defeat.
While in the previous year’s final and last year’s quarter-final, the Steelers trampled Sparta with excellent defense and hard work, this year it seems that the Praguers have learned their lesson and found the key to knocking out the winner of the last four seasons of the extra league.
“The experience from last year certainly helps us. We believe in our strength, in our team. That’s the key,” said Jakub Krejčík, the scorer of the winning goal in the third match of the series.
The Spartans were guarding a 2:1 lead in Třinec, but lost the lead three minutes before the end of the third period after the home side’s strike. The steel workers equalized in a clean sweep, suddenly they were on horseback.
It was the opposite in the second match in Prague, when a late equalizer encouraged Sparta. And in overtime she overturned the match. Now Třinca did not allow it and succeeded again.
“In extra time, it’s already such a battle of nerves. The whole series is balanced and difficult. I’m glad that we’re on the winning side,” stated Krejčík.
“It’s just one match, nothing else. We’re interested in the next one, we’re ready for a long series. These are and will be bloody matches from both teams,” Sparta coach Pavel Gross assessed.
Blood apparently played a role in extra time after a high stick hit by Petr Šenkeřík, which hit the visiting Ondřej Najman. Although it seemed that it was not a bloody injury, the referees excluded the defender from Třinec for four minutes. Krejčík then decided in the power play.
“I didn’t see it, I have to look from more shots,” said coach Moták. “I just came off the ice, I have no idea how it was there,” Třinec striker Patrik Hrehorčák shrugged.
For example, O2 TV Sport expert and former ice hockey player Jakub Koreis defended the X home team on the social network. “A tough loss for Třinec. Four minutes for this in overtime doesn’t seem like a correct assessment of the situation,” he wrote.
The Steelers found themselves in a situation that no one has yet turned around in the extra league. But they were themselves in the quarter-finals with České Budějovice, when the opponent got the series from 0:3 to the seventh match.
“We still believe in ourselves, we have our heads up. It’s about our fighting spirit, our heart. We’ll leave everything there. We’ll play in such a way that at the end we can shake hands that we’ve done everything,” noted Třinec striker Viliam Čacho.
But he immediately added: “The whole playoff, with the exception of a few games, we are catching up, and therefore we cannot play our hockey.”
Sparta defeated Třinec for the seventh time in the season, while five duels went to extra time. “It contributes to our self-confidence. We know how to find a way even in close matches,” praised coach Gross.
It is possible that Sparta will miss defender Michal Kempný in Sunday’s fourth match, who did not finish after a foul on Hrehorčák on Saturday. His intervention will be dealt with by the disciplinary committee.
On the other hand, attacker Daniel Voženílek, who was punished for a foul in Prague, will return to Třínec. After an appeal, the commission reduced his punishment to one game instead of two.
“Everyone who goes on the ice is working hard and working hard. I hope that when Vožuch gets involved again, he will be a quality part of the engine again,” declared Moták.