Czech challengers Sparta Prague got the result they needed last night as they bested Pinguins Bremerhaven by a 4-2 final to improve to seven points on the season and keep their hopes of qualifying for the Playoffs of the 2024/25 Champions Hockey League season alive.
The home side opened the scoring on a brilliant individual effort from veteran Michal Řepík who powered down the near side before cutting inside and elevating it over the blocker of Kristers Gudlevskis within the first 10 minutes of the game.
"We're not a club that want to drop out of the Regular Season."Michal Řepík, Sparta Prague
"We've struggled in the CHL this season with bad results," started the veteran Sparta forward, "we're not a club that want to drop out of the Regular Season. We're going to give it our all next week against Salzburg."
The Czechs were on fire last night, dispatching a very strong Bremerhaven side that entered the game with three wins and just one loss this season. The stats show they may have been second-best in taking shots on goal, but it levels out a bit in Expected Goals and goes heavily in their favour when taking the final score into consideration - and don't be fooled, that fourth wasn't an empty-netter!
"We're happy for the three points."Pavel Gross, Sparta Prague Head Coach
Head Coach Pavel Gross was also happy with the win: "We knew we had to win to keep our CHL Playoffs hopes alive. The first period from our side was just great. That really affected the entire game."
"We lost a bit of focus in the second period but got back into our game plan at the start of the third," he added.
Heading into the all-deciding game next Tuesday, Gross is just happy there's a game to be played thanks to his side's three points against Bremerhaven.