Spengler Cup roundup: Ambri-Piotta, Prague stay perfect as playoff matchups determined

Ambri-Piotta wins group with dominant effort

Swiss team Ambri-Piotta became the first squad to earn a berth to the semifinal after beating IFK Helsinki 7-3 on Wednesday.

Ambri-Piotta will play the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between Davos and HIFK on Dec. 30, with the winner advancing to the final.

A pair of goals for Ambri-Piotta set the tone for the game. At 5:20, Inti Pestoni stole the puck off a HIFK defender and sent it under the blocker of NiiloHalonen, who just went down a tad bit early. Brandon McMillan scored five minutes later after getting a touch on a point shot from Daniele Grassi, giving the fourth line another goal after a great opening day against Orebro.

After Filip Chlapik converted on a Michael Spacek pass two minutes into the second, the game looked all but over. But less than a minute later, Johan Motin got HIFK on the board after Ambri-Piotta goaltender Benjamin Conz was screened, giving the Finnish team a bit of life. Then, a power-play goal shortly after from Otso Rantakari – also through traffic from the points – made it a 3-2 game, setting up for what was going to be an interesting second half of the game.

Unfortunately for HIFK, there wasn’t much more to celebrate. Julius Nattinen scored a goal in the third, but it was offset by goals by Spacek and Johnny Kneubuehler. Kneubuehler would score another, while Andre Heim scored one for himself to help contribute to the 7-3 victory.

Sparta devastates Davos to advance

It was a night to forget for the hosts from Davos, with Sparta Prague having their way with them in a 9-2 affair.

Sparta Prague will play in the first semifinal on Dec. 30 against the winner of Canada vs. Orebro on Thursday. Davos will fight against IFK for a chance to play HC Ambri-Piotta on Friday.

It didn’t take long for the Czech team to score first. Just a few seconds into his first shift of the tournament, former NHL defenseman Michal Kempny skated in and fired a shot from an Erik Thorell pass to make it 1-0 after 1:23.

Nine minutes later, Michael Moravcik’s shot from the point hit off Ostap Safin and in to make it 2-0, but Matej Stransky’s tip with seven seconds to go in the period gave Davos some much-needed life heading into the first break.

That was the only time the game was remotely close, though. A shorthanded goal just 1:44 in the second by Kempny made it 3-1, and Jan Buchtele put the game out of reach four minutes later to make it 4-1. Roman Horak and David Vitouch scored a pair of goals in the second, while Michal Repik, David Dvoracek and a second from Roman Horak made it a 9-1 game in the third. Andres Ambühl scored the lone third-period goal for Davos with under 20 seconds left to make it 9-2, but the crowd was already muted.