Sparta crushed the opponent from the first goal and was rewarded with two strikes from Forman. “Similar situations. Very similar situations. I train often. I had a lot of space between the rings, so it was quite easy,” described the striker.
He had been waiting for a point for five games, and now he has also scored two goals. However, he didn’t get a hat-trick. “The guys weren’t looking for me much anymore, they were more like stalking me. I guess they were nice and didn’t want me to have to pay at the register,” laughed Forman.
Prague has won the tenth of the last eleven duels. Goalkeeper Jakub Kovář also played a big part in this, as he hadn’t conceded in almost 197 minutes. Although he scored his first save against Plzeň after eight minutes and hard work awaited him only in the second period, despite only 11 saves, the fifth clean sheet of the season is very valuable. “Kovy has a lot to do with recent victories. He catches great. With confidence in the goal box, the game is much better,” Forman praised.
At the other end, Kovář’s counterpart Dominik Pavlát shone, with 33 shots over him, but even he couldn’t avoid Škoda’s third consecutive defeat. West Bohemia, who have been waiting for a goal for 139 minutes, are plagued by an unpleasant wave of colds and viruses. “Anyone who was healthy went to the match. You can tell by the voice that we are not well,” said the 23-year-old goalkeeper in a weak voice.
Goaltender Svoboda, defenseman Baránek, and forwards Lang, Adamec, and Schleiss were dropped from the Indians’ lineup. Also, Sveglia and Blomstrand are injured. “At Christmas we will fill up on vitamins and pray that the sick come back and no one else goes to bed”, revealed Pavlát.
However, coach Petr Kořínek didn’t want to apologize for the health complications. “Every team has you. Sparta was clearly better. We have to quickly forget the game. One of the worst performances of the season” criticized the coach.
Sparta is also far from complete. They are missing forwards Kaše s Přbyl and defenders Krejčík, Němeček and Kempný due to injuries. He is expected to join the squad after Christmas in Davos, Switzerland, where Sparta will participate in the traditional Spengler Cup after 12 years. “I’m really looking forward to it, I’m taking my whole family with me. We want to show that Czech hockey is of a high standard and we will try to win,” added Forman. Prague residents were supposed to visit the famous tournament two years ago and last year but both years were canceled by covid. Now Davos and the selection of Canada are waiting for home in the group.
