Sparta blow win over Kometa as Knot misses an empty net in overtime

The Sparta–Kometa game (3:4 in overtime) in round 9 of the Czech hockey extraliga turned out to be wild. The hosts levelled in the final minutes of regulation, but in overtime their forward wasted a sure chance, and the visitors from Brno celebrated.

Sparta play without a goalie

Three minutes before the end of the third period, Sparta pulled their goalie, and it worked: first, in the 57th minute, Ronald Knot cut the deficit, and in the 59th minute Michal Špaček levelled on the power play, again with no goalie. “At least at the end we tipped the euphoria to our side, equalizing when nobody expected it anymore,” said Sparta coach Patrik Augusta.

It could have ended differently: 90 seconds before the end, Adam Zbořil shot at the empty net but hit only defenseman Knot, and then he took a penalty against Špaček. Kometa coach Libor Zábranský admitted: “Instead of scoring into an empty net and sealing the win, we also took a silly penalty.”

Knot misses an empty net

In overtime, Knot, who had already scored a goal and added an assist, went around the fallen goalie Stezka but missed the empty net with a backhand. “Missing a completely empty net is the same mistake as conceding a goal. We had them on a plate,” Knot reproached himself.

A few moments later, Kometa broke away on a two-on-one. Defenseman Filip Král, who had missed the last two games because of poor form, passed to Leino, who scored the winning goal. Král finished the game with a goal and two assists.

Zábranský praised goalie Aleš Stezka, who made 44 saves: in the second period he stopped about five sure goals. This is Kometa’s fourth win in their last six games, while Sparta have won only one of their last five. “One point is not enough for us. We make silly mistakes and concede cheap goals,” Knot admitted.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz