Last week in Czechia, Oceláři Třinec had home-ice leads of 2-0 and 3-1 but saw visiting Skellefteå AIK come back to tie it in the third period. But with 3:54 to play in the First Game, Champions Hockey League Top Scorer Julius Hudáček scored the game-winning goal, converting a backdoor pass from Andrej Nestrašil. As a result, Třinec take a one-goal aggregate lead into this week’s Round of 16 Return Game in northern Sweden.

In the CHL Regular Season, Skellefteå finished fifth and Třinec 12th, but only two points separated the teams, and the two teams matched fairly evenly in most statistics. Therefore, it’s no surprise that only one goal separates the two teams at halftime.

Skellefteå outshot Třinec in the game 26-15, but Ondřej Kacetl made 23 saves in net. Třinec dominated in terms of blocked shots (21 to 13) and hits (10 to 4). Linus Lindström led Skellefteå offensively in the game with two points and the Swedes dominated in the faceoff circle, winning 27 of 46 draws, led by Pär Lindholm at 8-for-12.

As mentioned, Hudáček currently leads the CHL in scoring with 11 points. However, the Slovak forward has not played since the First Game at home to a lower-body injury, and his status for the Return Game is questionable. If he doesn’t play, Třinec’s Top Scorer jersey will pass to linemate Nestrašil, who has seven assists and eight points. Veteran Martin Růžička leads domestically with 22 points in 19 games. Lindström leads Skellefteå with nine points in the CHL, while Oscar Lindberg has 14 points in 18 Swedish Hockey League games.

Since last week’s game, Třinec beat Mountfield HK away 5-3 and then lost 3-2 in overtime at home to Litvínov. They currently sit fourth in the Extraliga standings with 37 points in 19 games, holding at least one game in hand over all other top-seven teams in the league. Skellefteå, meanwhile, have played two close SHL games since last week that both went to shootouts, losing 5-4 to the Växjö Lakers and beating Timrå IK 2-1. They sit sixth in the standings with 29 points in 18 games.