Sparta captain Jaroslav Hlinka was one of the team's offensive leaders in the team's second-leg victory over the Vaxjo Lakers with 3 points in the 4-0 victory. Now he wants to bring a European title to the Czech capital.
by Karolina Antosova
PRAGUE – Although he’s 40 years old, he can still produce. Jaroslav Hlinka, Sparta Prague’s captain, collected a goal and two assists on Tuesday night – giving him nine points in 12 CHL games this season – and helped his team to the CHL Final for the first time as Sparta beat the Vaxjo Lakers 4–0 in the game, and 6–1 on aggregate. With that, Sparta become the the first team from outside Sweden or Finland to play in the Final.
Hlinka’s name is almost synonymous with Sparta, and it's no wonder – he's now in his 17th season with the club. With Sparta he has collected four league titles and won many individual awards, but there is still something missing.
That something can be fixed this season, because bringing a European championship to Prague is definitely a big deal for Hlinka. Be sure that he has done and will do his best to get the trophy. There is only one more step...
Vaxjo looked more active in the early minutes of the game. Do you think that Lukas Klimek’s first goal broke their resistance?
“That was such an important moment because till that time the game was tied, but after that we were definitely the better team. We had the game under control and deserved the win and the Final more. I think we played very well defensively, both of the games. Especially in this second game, we barely gave them any scoring chances.”
Was it hard before the game not to think about the fact that you need only a tie?
“You can’t play like a tie is enough. It would be kind of deceptive. We are experienced enough not to even think like that. We wanted to win, no matter what.”
Also one of the reasons must have been the crowd – 12,136 people in the arena...
“Of course. They are the reason why we play hockey. I have to thank them all; they made it even greater today. The atmosphere was amazing.”
What does it mean to you to advance to the CHL Final?
“It’s such a great achievement. And not only for Sparta, but for all of Czech hockey. We beat teams from Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, which is a big success and good advertisement for the Czech Extraliga. It shows that our league is underestimated.”
You were supposed to have a Czech Extraliga game coming up on Friday, but it's been re-scheduled. Does that give you time to celebrate this?
“Well, we play another game on Sunday against Pardubice, but we will definitely celebrate this a little bit, because an achievement like this deserves it.”
In the Final you’ll play against Frolunda Gothenburg from Sweden, last year's CHL champions. It seems like you got the toughest opponent possible, don't you think?
“I haven’t seen their games, but I know very well their results, so I know how dominant they are in the Swedish league. However, in the CHL we've managed to beat three teams from Sweden – Farjestad, HV71 and now Vaxjo – so I don’t know why we'd be afraid of them. But it’s going to be extremely hard. Frolunda is probably the best team in Europe.”