Sparta & Karpat meet again

Karpat Oulu and Sparta Prague met last year in a memorable Round of 16 match-up. After Karpat allowed only one goal in their first six games, Sparta lit the lamp four times in the first leg in Prague and took a two-goal aggregate lead to Oulu. Karpat then rallied on home ice to win, thanks to a goal by Mika Pyorala in the 120th minute of the series. Will things be similar this time around? Both teams have changed somewhat. Karpat are without some of the offensive weapons that helped them to last year's Final, but they still have some firepower up front and look as good as ever on defence and in goal. As for Sparta, their offence is as dangerous as ever, but defence and goaltending have been a concern early in the season. This should be interesting, but one has to think that if they're not better defensively than they've shown so far, it will be very difficult for Sparta to get past a team still considered one of Europe's best. 

As expected, Karpat won Group E, but although they won all four games, they were all close. They were outplayed by Vitkovice in their first game in Ostrava, but won 4-2 thanks largely to the goaltending of Jussi Rynnas in his first competitive game with the team. Two days later, Sami Aittokallio posted a 25-save shutout – his 6th in the CHL – as Karpat beat Krefeld 2-0. On home ice, it was Rynnas who shut out Vitkovice for 63 minutes until Mikko Niemela scored the game's only goal in overtime, and they wrapped it up with a 5-3 win over Krefeld. It's clear that the team's defence and goaltending is as solid as ever. They will now be tested against a Sparta team that is known for offence and, as people who followed last year will remember, posed the first real threat of the season for Karpat in last year's Round of 16.

Being drawn into a group with Comarch Cracovia from Poland, it was assumed that Sparta and Farjestad Karlstad had almost a free pass to the Round of 32, and both made it easily. Sparta began by playing the first CHL game in Poland and spoiled the party with a 7-2 win, thanks to a Tomas Netik hat-trick. Up next was Farjestad on home ice, and Sparta led 1-0 after two periods but the Swedish club struck twic in the third and won 2-1. In the return engagement against Cracovia, Sparta fired 65 shots at netminder Rafal Radziszewski, but the game was tied 4-4 before a late power-play marker by Neik decided it in Sparta's favour. In their last game in Karlstad, Sparta needed a regulation win to take the group, but surrendered a last-minute equalizer. They won in overtime, but Farjestad's win over Cracovia in the last game dropped Sparta to second. While Sparta were equal to the Farjestad challenge at times, they sometimes buckled under pessure. Are they ready for the solid two-way game Karpat will now bring to them? 

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