Sparta Prague beat the Vaxjo Lakers 4-0 on home ice in the return game to win 6-1 on aggregate and advance to the CHL Final. Read more in Gamecentre.

by Derek O'Brien, with contribution from Karolina Antosova

PRAGUE – After winning 2-1 in Sweden last week, Sparta Prague added a goal in each of the first two periods and two more late in the third of the return game at home to defeat the Vaxjo Lakers 6-1 on aggregate. They become the first team from outside the Nordic countries to advance to the CHL Final. 

Captain Jaroslav Hlinka and Lukas Klimek led the offence with a goal and two assists each, while Tomas Popperle made 25 saves for the shutout.

“I think that it was just a very special night of hockey for us,” said Sparta assistant coach Zdenek Motak. “Lots of people came out, and we played very well – the fact that we shut them them out reflects that.” 

The Lakers had a couple of early chances on the power play, but couldn't pull even. Then with 3:25 to play in the opening period, Klimek was in the right place after the puck bounced off a Vaxjo skate. With Joacim Eriksson already on his way down, his shot from the inside hashmarks went high glove side to put Sparta up two on aggregate.

“That was such an important moment because till that time the game was tied,” said Hlinka, who assisted on the goal. “But after that we were definitely better team. We had the game under control and deserved the win and the Final more. I think we played very well defensively, both of the games.”
 
“We came away with a decent result from the first game and I think we started the first period pretty well today and got a couple of power plays,” said Vaxjo coach Sam Hallam. “I think it's a different game if we execute on the power play. If we'd gotten something from that four minutes, then I think we put some pressure on them.” 

Just over a minute later, Lakers captain Liam Reddox had a golden chance to get the goal back, finding himself all alone in front of Popperle, but his shot went off the bottom of the crossbar and stayed out.

“I think the first period was our best, but they were the better team over the rest,” Hallam continued. “At the end of 120 minutes, we see that our top players didn't deliver anything, and I think that was the difference between the teams.”

Sparta increased their lead midway through the second period, when Michal Barinka's shot from the point hit a Vaxjo stick and fluttered over the shoulder of Eriksson, who was screened by the traffic in front and threw his arms in the air in frustration afterward.

“I'm pretty sure it was deflected,” Barinka nodded afterward. “That guy in front of me, his stick tipped it a little bit and it was sort of fluttering toward the net. The goalie was down low and it was in the net, so I was happy.”

The Lakers offence was continually frustrated as well, managing only two shots on Popperle in the middle 20, as Sparta diligently protected their now three-goal aggregate lead.

“We played so well defensively and that's what we needed,” Motok continued. “Of course we made a couple of mistakes, but other than that it was excellent from our side. This is a success not only for us, but for all of Czech hockey.”

Facing a desperate situation in the third period, the Lakers started gambling more. Reddox sprung Josh Hennessy for a chance, but Popperle stayed solid. Then in the last seven minutes, they pulled their goalie and went to the power play when Juraj Mikus was called for interference with six minutes to play, giving them a 6-on-4 advantage. However, despite some pressure, Sparta killed it off, much to the delight of the large crowd of 12,136.

Sparta immediately went on the attack. They were unable to score into the empty net, but drew a slashing penalty to Olli Palola and a power play. Lukas Pech fed Hlinka, who made no mistake with 3:13 remaining. With the large crowd now rabid, Petr Vrana put the final nail in the Lakers' captain on a brilliant individual effort with a minute left, making it a 4-0 final. 

While their CHL ride over for this season, the Lakers currently sitting second in the Swedish Hockey League, so there's a good chance they'll be back next season. 

“It's gonna be tougher to get into the CHL next year,” Hallam noted of the new format. “This was the second time we played against Sparta Prague and they have four wins out of four against us, so if we get a chance to play again I hope we can be better.”

As for Sparta, it is now a different Swedish club that they turn their attention towards. Speaking of Frolunda, the other Finalist, Hlinka said: “I know how dominant they are in the Swedish league. However, in the CHL we've managed to beat three teams from Sweden – Farjestad, HV71 and now Vaxjo – so I don’t know why we should be scared of them. But it’s going to be extremely hard. Frolunda is probably the best team in Europe.”