Former Ottawa Senators forward Filip Chlapik clinched the decisive goal to lead Sparta Prague in eliminating Canada from the Spengler Cup hockey tournament, securing a 5-1 victory in the quarterfinals on Monday. Martins Dzierkals initiated the scoring early in the third period and later sealed the win for the Czech team with an empty-net goal. Sparta Prague will now advance to the semifinals to face the U.S. Collegiate Selects on Tuesday.
Adding to the Czech team’s tally, Kristian Vesalainen contributed a second empty-net goal, followed by David Nemecek who scored with just one second remaining in the game. Canada’s Matthew Peca managed to equalize the score at 1-1 at 13:07 of the third period before Chlapik swiftly secured the winning goal just 95 seconds later.
In a remarkable defensive display, Jakub Kovar made 29 saves for Prague, while Connor Hughes of Canada stopped 21 shots. Although Canada has an illustrious history at the event with 16 titles, they have not claimed victory since their dominant run of four titles in five years from 2015 to 2019.
Chlapik, originally drafted by Ottawa in the second round of the 2015 NHL draft, had a brief stint with the Senators, playing 57 games and recording five goals and six assists. He is currently in his third season with Sparta Prague, his hometown club.