Tuesday’s game between Sparta Prague and Karpat Oulu had two different faces. In the beginning it was the Finnish team which was better and took an early lead. But after the first intermission Sparta stepped up their game and won the opening game of this two-game set 4–2. When it was all over, veteran forward Ivan Huml tried to explain what happened. 

by Karolina Antosova

PRAGUE – It was a special game for Ivan Huml. The Czech-born player hasn’t had many chances to play in his homeland in recent seasons as he has some job in the Finnish Liiga, so he really appreciated the game against Sparta. “My family hasn’t seen me playing for ages, so they came to watch. It’s too bad that I didn’t play better,” the 34-year-old Huml regretted after the disappointing loss.

After winning your first six CHL games, you lost this one. We are used to seeing great defensive games from Karpat, but in this game you allowed four goals. What happened?

“We can’t be satisfied at all. It hasn’t happened to us in quite a long time that we gave up four goals in a game all at 5-on-5. The basic part of our game is defence, but against Sparta we made a few senseless mistakes and Sparta were able to take advantage of that. They have really skilled, talented players who know what to do on odd-man rushes. They were also more effective. We had five or six power plays but we created almost no chances on them.”

As you mentioned. Sparta had many penalties but you weren’t able to score on your power plays. Where was the problem?

“I think that's been a problem all season. Power plays aren’t a strong part of our game. Today it showed up as a key point. I don’t know what to do about it. We tried to shoot a lot, but Sparta were really committed and blocked so many shots. We weren’t able to get to many rebounds. It's unfortunate.”

You made it to the eighth-finals without a single loss.  Moreover, you outscored your opponents 17–1 in six games. How important is it for your team to succeed in the CHL?

“We take it very seriously. I think we are one of the best teams in Europe, so we really want to succeed. So of course this kind of game doesn’t help us at all. If we want to advance, all of the teams we're going to face from now on will be really skilled and tough to play against, so with the way we played against Sparta, it will be hard to make it to the semi-final or final.”

A lot of people seem surprised by this result. Did you underestimate Sparta a little bit?

“I wouldn’t say that, but of course we had a healthy respect for them. When I look back to the beginning of the game we were the better team, we created more chances, we were leading 1–0. We could have made it 2–0, and then the game could have gone in a totally different direction. But it didn’t happen. Sparta are a quality team and showed it. We have to take a lesson from this and do better back in Oulu.”

Have Sparta been the best opponent you've played against in the CHL this season?

“Yes, for sure. But if we had played at the level that we've played in the last couple of games in the Finnish Liiga, the final score would have been totally different. We didn't really play our usual game.”

Vladimir Eminger from Sparta is your former teammate from Karpat. Was there some kind of provocation among you?

“Not so much. The only thing that really happened was where I tripped him and he got that penalty for diving (smiling). That was the only contact between us.”

But at least you have a chance to play in your homeland. That doesn’t actually happen for you that often.

“For me it was really interesting. My family hasn’t seen me play for ages, so they came to watch. It’s too bad that I didn’t play better.”

On the same day you played Sparta, the Czech National Team met in Prague ahead of the Karjala Tournament in Finland. Did you have any hopes of playing for the national team again?

“I didn’t think about it. I really didn’t. For me, these international breaks only mean that I'll have a couple of days off.” (smiling)

And in the future?

“I’m not getting younger, I’m just getting older, so the national team isn’t really something that I think about anymore.”
 
Karpat have had many Czech players in the past, such as Viktor Ujcik, Petr Ton and Michal Bros. This is now your sixth season there. What makes it such an attractive destination?

“For me it’s quite a success to play for Karpat that long. Of course I really want to continue there – they are a high-quality organization. One of the best ones in Finland. Every year we have championship ambitions in our domestic league and also in the CHL. I’m really satisfied there.”

And what about the language?

“Ehmm Finnish? . . . Although I live there five and a half years, I know almost nothing. Only some basic hockey words and a few other things. But it’s so complicated that I have caught just a little bit of it.”

Watch the highlights of Game 1 from Prague here: