Sparta Prague hosted Switzerland’s EV Zug for the Return Game of the Round of 16 in the 2025/26 Champions Hockey League. After a difficult First Game, the Czechs hoped home ice would spark a dramatic comeback. The question was whether they could make it happen.

The opening period ended without a goal, though both sides produced several promising chances. Sparta were the slightly more active team and earned two powerplays at 11:53 and 16:01, but they were unable to convert either opportunity.

The second period finally brought goals, and both belonged to Sparta. At 30:30, David Němeček opened the scoring when Roman Horák set him up at the blue line and he hammered a one-timer past Leonardo Genoni. Then, at 35:39, Kryštof Hrabík struck shorthanded, breaking away and sliding the puck between Genoni’s pads to cut Zug’s aggregate lead to 6-2.

The final twenty minutes delivered three more goals that shaped the fate of the series. Zug got on the board through Dominik Kubalík, narrowing the score on the night. Sparta then restored their two-goal cushion at 3-1 when Mark Pysyk’s shot from the blue line deflected off a Zug defender, struck the post and dropped in behind the Swiss goaltender. Zug responded once more to make it 3-2, comfortably protecting their overall advantage in the two-game series.

Even though Sparta won the Return Game 3-2, their effort was not enough to overturn the overall scoreline, which finished 8-3 in favour of EV Zug. Therefore, the Swiss team move on to the next stage of the Champions Hockey League.