SC Bern and Sparta Prague skated to a 1-1 tie in an entertaining hockey game in the Swiss capital. Next week, the winner of this Quarter-Final will be determined in the Czech capital. Read more in Gamecentre. 

by Derek O'Brien, with contribution from Tereza Velikovska

PostFinance Arena was the scene for a fast-paced, emotional, and evenly played first game of the Quarter-Final between SC Bern and Sparta Prague, with 1-1 being a fair result. Sparta held a very slight edge in shots, 27-26, with goalies Leonardo Genoni and Tomas Popperle being nearly perfect at either end of the rink.

“I think we played a great game,” said Popperle. “Bern is a good, team, but we contained them. They had some chances, but the guys in front of me played well. And the chances we had were just as good.” 

In front of another large and boisterous crowd in Bern, the teams got off to an energetic start, playing back and forth hockey, with both goalies having to be sharp. Sparta got some chances on an early power play, but the best chances of the opening period went to Bern – especially in the 13th minute, when Eric Blum fed Ryan Lasch for a one-time but Popperle made a huge save. Tempers flared late in the period, and the chippiness would continue for most of the game.

“I liked the level out there, it was creative and an international level game,” said Bern coach Kari Jalonen. “A 1-1 result is good for both teams – we had chances and so did they. The first period we had five really good scoring chances and I think we should have got a couple.”

The two teams exchanged the game's only two goals in the first seven minutes of the second period. Sparta struck first first when Juraj Mikus passed across to Jaroslav Hlinka, and the captain sent a long shot through traffic that beat Genoni.

“Basically, I just threw it on goal, I wasn't aiming for anything,” Hlinka admitted. “I didn't have much time, so it was kind of a lucky goal.” 

Less than three minutes later, Bern evened it – after a faceoff in the Sparta zone, Marc Arcobello made a cross-ice pass to Ramon Untersander heading to the net and he beat Popperle to the short side. Tempers again flared late in the middle period with a few altercations – particularly one between Bern's Maxim Noreau and Sparta's Petr Kumstat.

The third period was played more defensively, with neither team wanting to make the mistake that would their team into a deficit heading into the return game. Sparta held a 7-2 edge in shots, but most of those came from a distance and didn't pose much of a threat. 

With the score tied after the first game in the Swiss capital, the table is set for an interesting return game next Tuesday in the Czech capital.

“It's definitely promising,” Hlinka said of the outcome. “Of course, we're still only halfway there, but as a result of the first game, it's good.”