The Leventiners lose against Dynamo Pardubice after a 2-0 lead 2-3 after extra time.
HC Ambri-Piotta only managed the starting phase as desired. After just eight minutes, the Ticino team led 2-0 thanks to two goals from Alex Formenton. And then? Ambri lost ground, perhaps wanted to manage the lead, fell into passivity and was completely dominated by the Czechs. Dynamo Pardubice totaled 40:14 shots on goal until Lukas Sedlak scored the 3-2 winner after 61:15 minutes.
Dynamo Pardubice, on the other hand, shone in the opening game. The team with all Czech players demonstrated why they are currently dominating the Czech Extra League. The lead in the championship over Sparta Prague is eight points; all other teams are already 16 or more points behind Pardubice. Coach Vaclav Varada’s (former Davos) team didn’t let the early deficit bother them and were rewarded for their persistence. Matej Paulovic (30th) and Tomas Zohorna (48th) equalized in regular time.
For Ambri, complicated games at the Spengler Cup are not a new experience. The Leventiners shone in their first two participations in 2019 (semi-finals) and 2022 (tournament victory). Ambri won six of her seven Spengler Cup games. However, the Ticino team regularly expressed problems with Czech teams in Davos: four years ago they suffered their only defeat to date in the semi-final against Trinec. And a year ago, Sparta Prague got a taste of winning the tournament in the final against Ambri. Ambri narrowly won the final on New Year’s Eve 3-2 in extra time.
For Ambri-Piotta the tournament continues on Wednesday afternoon. In the second game, Ambri will face Finnish representative KalPa Kuopio, the 2018 Spengler Cup winner.
2023-12-27 03:59:41
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