HV71 play at home with 2-goal lead

HV71 are in a favourable position for the return leg, playing at home with a two-goal lead, thanks to a 4-2 win in Prague last week. The visitors from Jonkoping dominated the first two periods and built up a three-goal lead, but Sparta pushed back with a strong third and got one goal back. 

“We played pretty well in the beginning,” said HV71 assistant coach Nicklas Rahm. “We controlled the game on our own end, created many chances, and played pretty well defensively. But last 20 minutes weren’t ours. They scored and created lot of great chances, but luckily our goalie played really really well tonight. We are happy for the win 4-2 in Prague.”

“They played exactly how we expected them to play,” said Sparta forward Petr Vrana. “The first 40 minutes were really bad from us. Only in the last 20 minutes did we start to play our game and were better. At least we scored the second goal and made it 4-2. Heading into the game in Sweden it is still open.”

Looking ahead to Tuesday's game in Jonkoping, Vrana said, “I think they will play little bit more offensively. They will be the home team there, so they will definitely have more confidence. I’m sure it won’t be enjoyable to play against them again.

“We have to get off to a good start. It won’t be easy and we will have to be patient. There is a two-goal difference, so we need play solid defence and produce more goals than in the first game.”

“It's always open until the end,” agrees Thornberg, the CHL's Cramo Top Scorer who scored twice in the first game. “They have a really strong team and they can play at a high level, but we're really strong at home and if we can play another good game like we did today, then we're confident. I look forward to the game.”

Sparta hope to get a boost in offence from the return of their own CHL Top Scorer, Tomas Netik, who hasn't played since late September. 

Read about the first game HERE.