EHL Final Four: HC Lugano – HC Sparta Praha Interviews

HC Lugano – HC Sparta Praha Interviews Results and statistics available at the Internet page http://www.ehl.net Frantisek Vyborny (Head Coach Sparta Praha): We played a great game in a great atmosphere. I have to say, I never played in such an atmosphere like today. Lugano played a very good game, we did play good as well, and perhaps in the end we were just a little more lucky than Lugano. We saved ourselves from a difficult situation when Zelenka received a minor penalty with 1:30 to play in the third period, as Lugano played a very good powerplay. Then it was our turn. And when we got the chance to play with an extra attacker, I hit Vladimir Vujtek on the helmet and told him “Now go on the ice and score the game winner”. And this is what he did. We are now going to face Metallurg Magnitogorsk. It will be a hard game, but I believe that today’s win will add something more to our psychological mood and that we will play good tomorrow. We want to win. Jim Koleff (Head Coach Lugano): I would like to congratulate Sparta Praha for their win. It was a great game, and I think this was obvious to everybody. There were lots of up and downs actions, good scoring chances, incredible goaltending from both sides. I can’t make any complaints about our team’s effort, we went very close to win the game when Walz hit the crossbar and a few minutes later when Briza stopped one shot on the goal line. I think this was the best game I saw us play. It was a great night for hockey, as we seldom do experience here in Switzerland a game like this. Now we have to forget this loss and concentrate for the next game. Now the guys are very disappointed, but we will try to have a good sleep and a good morning training and then we will go on the ice to win against TPS Turku. Peter Briza (Sparta Praha’s best player): It was not an easy night for me, as Lugano played a very strong offensive game. And they sent on the ice a great powerplay unit. I made good saves, important ones in important moments. Some nights you make good saves, and you help your team to win the game, sometimes not. Tonight was a yes night. Christian DubÚ (Lugano’s best player): We knew that if we wanted to play Sparta Praha we had to play at our best, and this is what we did. I think that nobody can make any complaints for the way we have played and for the heart we have put on the ice. We played a fantastic first period and we created many scoring chances. And the same we did in the third period, when we managed to tie the game and had a couple of good chances to win it. We are disappointed for this loss, but tomorrow we will play hard again for the bronze medal. For further information Paolo Ianieri EHL Media and Communication Manager Tel: +41 1 289 86 07 Mobile: +41.79 200 8829 E-Mail: ianieri@iihf.com