HC Sparta Prague » The season begins! We welcome Verva home
17/09/2022 Daniel Ryl
Our team’s entry into the new season did not go as expected, but we have a chance to fix it on Sunday, September 18 from 4:00 p.m.! In the opening home game of the extra-league year, we will welcome Litvínov, against whom we have been doing well in recent years. I believe that in the new one you will want to have a lot of fun with hockey and a rich accompanying program in the hall. It’s going to be SHOWTIME!
Thank you for your support, come to Litvínov on time!
The battle with Litvínov will be the first extra-league match of the season for our team, but already in the preparation against Slavia and in the two matches of the Champions League, the Spartan fans created a great backdrop. “They’ve been great at supporting us in the build-up, so I’m sure they’ll support us again in large numbers,” attacker Roman Horák hopes.
“I’m sorry that the first match didn’t go according to our expectations. I’d say it’s also caused by the fact that several key players have stepped up due to illness or injury in their first competitive game in a long time. I believe that the opening duel in the home hall will turn out much better.” said sports director Petr Ton before the match.
In addition to hockey, fans can look forward to a unique pre-match program. That is why we ask fans to come to the O2 arena with enough time in advance. Entrances open at 3:00 p.m.
From the Sparta cabin: We definitely have to add!
The opening match in Mladá Boleslav did not go well for our team, which is why in the post-match interview attacker Roman Horák also announced. The coach was also dissatisfied Pavel Paterawho had a bitter debut on the bench. “Boleslav blew us away. If we lose a personal one-on-one fight, we can’t win anything at all.” commented on the match.
In Sunday’s match against Litvínov, he could already count on some marauders, such as Vladimír Sobotka or Jan Buchtele. However, the long-term injuries of Michael Krutil and Michal Moravčík will certainly not be available.
On match day years ago…
We already wrote about the match on the ice of Kladno eleven years ago in the previous preview, but did you know that it was the latest Spartan start of the Czech extra league in history? The first round was postponed due to the tragic plane accident in Yaroslavl, in which former Spartan Jan Marek also died. That’s why we didn’t play the first game until September 18 in Kladno.
The new era of Verva: without legends like the Latvian team
Litvínov is literally on the threshold of a new era. In the summer, the legendary attackers said goodbye to their careers at the highest level Viktor Hübl AND František Lukeš, who were associated with the club almost the entire time. Coach Vladimír Růžička had to deal with the loss of another support, but he praises the arrival of three Latvian defenders. Ralfs Freibergs, Janis Jaks AND Kristaps Zile.
She returned to the Czech Republic from Jukurit, for example Šimon Stránskýfrom the WHL, a young forward for a change Michal Gut. And Verva did well in preparation! They won seven of the nine preparatory matches, but did not follow up on the successful run at the beginning of the season when they lost 2:3 at home to Vítkovice.
SUMMER TRANSFERS IN THE VERVA STAFF:
ARRIVALS | DEPARTURES |
Janis JAKS (O, Sochi) | Aaron IRVING (O, SaiPa) |
Ralfs FREIBERGS (O, Iserlohn) | Uvis Janis BALINSKIS (O, Liberec) |
Kristaps ZILE (O, Örebro) | Marek HRBAS (O, Kometa Brno) |
Radim ŠALDA (O, Mountfield HK) | Matěj STRÍTESKÝ (O, Mladá Boleslav) |
Michal GUT (Ú, Everett Silvertips – WHL) | Richard JARŮŠEK (Ú, without engagement) |
Filip HELT (Ú, Jihlava) | František GERHÁT (Ú, end of career) |
Šimon STRÁNSKY (Ú, Jukurit) | Viktor HÜBL (Ú, Chomutov) |
Nicolas HLAVA (Ú, Kladno) | František LUKEŠ (Ú, Chomutov) |
Jindřich ABDUL (Ú, České Budějovice) |
Did you know that…
We can do the opening matches of the season against Litvínov! The Spartans won the first showdown five times in a row, of which three times on home ice. Last year, after the 6:4 home victory, five scorers signed, of which Erik Thorell was the only one to score twice.