- Mladá Boleslav's special teams were a no-show
- Zurich claim crucial points
- The visitors survive a late surge and shutout Mladá Boleslav
A costly mistake stymied any hopes of BK Mladá Boleslav sealing their first CHL victory against Swiss side ZSC Lions Zurich as Mladá Bolelsav dropped their fifth consecutive contest in a 1-0 final score line.
Both teams favored an aggressive style of play to begin the match, but a lack of discipline by the home team resulted in an early powerplay for Zurich.
Fortunately for the home side, Mladá Boleslav’s Gašper Krošelj was up to the task, putting on a clinic and denying every Zurich chance.
Later in the first, it would be the hosts to the man-advantage. If not for a sensational glove save by Ludovic Waeber, the home side could've easily taken the lead with a grade-A chance in close.
That would be their only bid, however, as a relatively quiet first period would stay that way with the two clubs knotted at 0-0 after 20 minutes.
Zurich would head to the box four more times in the second, but for all their time with the extra attacker Mladá Boleslav's powerplay couldn't cash in and the frustration continued to mount for the home side.
The Czechs had a couple of close calls in the later stages of the second, the first being a penalty shot awarded to Adam Raška who failed to challenge Waeber. The second was a goal that was quickly negated due to a high stick.
Mladá Boleslav's CHL woes would continue as a giveaway in their own zone allowed Zurich's Garrett Roe to skate in, steal the puck off a defender, and slide it past Krošelj to open the scoring with a short-handed tuck at 36:45.
Despite handing four powerplays to the home side in the second, it would be the visitors who led after 40 minutes of action.
The third period of play saw a lot of North-South hockey but nothing much in terms of chances for either side.
Zurich were content with keeping the lead and playing a more cautious game, while Mladá Boleslav continued pushing but were frustrated at every step by a checking-heavy Swiss side.
In a late effort to tie the game, Mladá Boleslav pulled their goalie but failed to find the equaliser giving the Swiss side a 1-0 victory and 3 crucial points.