Farjestad Karlstad jump into first place in Group O following a 2-1 win in Prague over Sparta. Read more in Gamecentre.
Both teams had won their first Group O game in Krakow, so this game at Prague's O2 Arena was for first place at the midpoint, and Farjestad Karlstad scored a big 2-1 win, thanks to two third-period goals.
Tomas Netik put Sparta in front in the 14th minute, firing a beautiful wrister that beat Lars Haugen over the glove. That lead held up into the third period of what was a very evenly-played game. In the third period, it was special teams that made the difference in Farjestad's favour. First Linus Persson tied it shorthanded with a slapper that beat Filip Novotny far to the glove side. Then on the power play, Per Aslund deflected the winning goal home with 6:25 on the clock.
Farjestad head coach Leif Carlsson said afterward, “The first period was Sparta's period, because they were skating much better and had much more speed and good puck-handling. The second period was the opposite – I think we were little bit better than Sparta. We tried to work every shift, so they got a little bit tired. In the third we tried to score. We had a lucky goal on the PK. For me, it was a really good hockey game with lots of speed and body contact.”
“I agree with my colleague,” concurred Sparta counterpart Jiri Kalous. “In the first period we had maybe more from the game, created more chances, but unfortunately we didn't score. In the second, the game was more equal – we were under pressure a couple times. But in the third period, when they scored during our power play, we weren't able to regain the lead. I'm quite unhappy that we didn’t win the three points today.”