Oceláři Třinec are through to the next round after beating HV71 Jönköping 3-0. They only needed a point from the game at home, but thanks to a pair of early goals they took all three, eliminating the reigning Swedish camps in the process.
The game was barely a minute old when Třinec opened the scoring as HV71 failed to clear the zone, and following a scramble in front of the net Vladimír Svačina roofed a rebound. Then eight minutes later it was 2-0 when Jiří Polanský converted a pass from Martin Adamský on a 2-on-1. Adamský finished the night with three points.
With HV71 needing to win the game in regulation time, they were now really behind the eight-ball and Třinec played solid defence the rest of the way. What shots did get through, Šimon Hrubec stopped. The Třinec goalie made 23 saves for the shutout and assisted on Adamský’s empty-net goal with 3:35 to play, which secured the victory.
"They played very well today but we were a bit better. I have to thank my teammates, they were blocking shots, were quick enough to stop several attacks. That’s why we won and advanced."Šimon Hrubec, goaltender, Oceláři Třinec