Spengler Cup Roundup: Sparta Prague, Ambri-Piotta win on Day 1

Sparta Praha held on after a late-game charge by Canada, while Ambri-Piotta delighted the Swiss crowd on the opening day of play of the 2022 Spengler Cup.

Here’s a look at what took place in Davos:

Sparta Prague too much for Canada

Canada`s David Desharnais, up, versus Sparta`s goalkeeper Josef Korenar, during the game between the Czech Republic’s Sparta Praha and Team Canada, at the 94th Spengler Cup ice hockey tournament in Davos, Switzerland, Monday, December 26, 2022. (KEYSTONE/Gian Ehrenzeller)

Despite a great mid-game comeback, Canada lost its first Spengler Cup group-stage game since 2016 after falling 3-2 to Sparta Prague on Monday.

Canada will meet with tournament hosts HC Davos Tuesday at 2:15 PM ET, giving Praha an extra day off. They’ll face Davos on Wednesday with a chance to win the group and earn a bye to the semifinal.

The first period was close, with Praha holding a 10-9 shot advantage. But a pair of defensive breakdowns just 30 seconds apart gave Praha the advantage early. At 18:11, Michal Repik fired a shot over Canadian netminder Michael Hutchinson for the 1-0 goal, only for Daniel Prybil to double the advantage on the very next shift.

Canada had a better attack early in the second, but Praha capitalized again. This time, Repik scored again, taking Pribyl’s feed on the power play at 27:20 to make it a 3-0 game. That lead didn’t last long, though, as Daniel Carr found Brett Connolly at 28:40 to end Josef Korenar’s shutout bid and give Canada its first of the game. Canada took control from there, and at 34:53, Connolly one-timed Carr’s pass to make it 3-2.

Canada continued to push, with Carr getting a great breakaway opportunity with about four minutes left. But Korenar came up sharp and kept his shot, and every other Canadian chance away to solidify the victory.

Ambri-Piotta start strong against Orebro

With a large contingent of fans wearing navy and white, HC Ambri-Piotta started the Spengler Cup off with a big 5-2 win over Swedish outfit Orebro in the tournament’s first game.

With the win, Ambri-Piotta will get Tuesday off before playing against Finnish team HIFK on Wednesday. Orebro will have a short turnaround, playing in Tuesday’s early game against HIFK.

A familiar face to NHL fans opened the scoring midway through the first. After stealing a puck from an Orebro defenseman, Alex Formenton – an unsigned RFA with his rights belonging to the Ottawa Senators – rushed down the ice and beat Jhonas Enroth with a glove-side wrister, making it 1-0 Ambri-Piotta.

HAP had an excellent start to the second, but Orebro took advantage of a mistake to make it 1-1. The team forced a turnover, and Christopher Mastomaki found himself in a good spot in the high slot to beat Janne Juvonen with a wrist shot to tie it up.

But from there, Ambri-Piotta took complete control with a pair of goals to make it 3-1 before the second intermission. Josh Jooris made it 2-1 with a one-timer from the slot with just over six minutes to go. A few minutes later, Brandon McMillan kept the all-Canadian scoring attack alive with a one-timer to make it 3-1, completely deflating Orebro’s attack.

Orebro got another early period goal in the third, with Linus Oberg scoring on a Philip Holm feed at 42:10 to make it 3-2. But Ambri-Piotta didn’t have to wait long to restore the two-goal lead, as Dario Burgler scored three minutes later to make it 4-2. Jesse Virtanen scored an empty-netter at 57:23 to help secure the victory.