Twice in their history, Sparta Prague have advanced to European club hockey's title game. Besides that, they have competed in numerous international events throughout their long history. Is this the year they will finally win it all?

by Derek O'Brien

Sparta Prague is one of the best-known brand names in European sports. Established in 1909, the hockey club has been successful domestically with six national titles, and has a wealth of international experience including the Spengler Cup, European Hockey League, European Champions Cup, European Trophy and now the Champions Hockey League. However, they have yet to capture the big prize – a European championship. Next Tuesday they will get the chance.

They have come this close before. In both 2000 and 2008, Sparta also got to the very last game, falling both times to Russian powerhouse Metallurg Magnitogorsk. There have also been a couple other semi-final appearances. 

Sparta occasionally played against clubs from neighbouring Central European nations in the inter-war period and following World War II, usually winning easily. Then in the early 1960s, they got a couple of visits from visiting Soviet clubs, which were of great interest to local fans. In March 1960, Traktor Chelyabinsk visited Prague and won 4-2. Then in September 1961, rising powerhouse CSKA Moscow visited. CSKA took a 2-0 lead before Sparta rallied with three straight goals to win and thrill more than 12,000 fans who had crammed into the historic Stvanice Arena. 

A year later, Sparta started a run of three straight trips to the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland. In 1962 and 1963, they were able to handle hosts HC Davos, Austria's Klagenfurter AC, Sweden's Wifsta Ostrand and West Germany's EV Fussen and Krefeld and win the famous tournament each time. Going for a third straight win in December 1964, Sparta went into the final day with a chance to do it. They led Fussen 4-1 in the second period before eventually tying 5-5 to finish third.

“I'm disappointed. It's too bad the third period did not go as well as the first two. A few mistakes during on the penalty kill allowed them to catch up, and it also cost us first place,” Sparta coach Karel Gut was quoted after the last game.  

After regularly competing at Christmastime tournaments in Sweden in the late '60s and '70s – namely the Ahearne Cup in Stockholm and the Stjarncupen in Gothenburg – Sparta have appeared on the international stage almost annually since the start of the '90s. 

The European Cup, European League and “Super Six”

After winning their first Czechoslovakian title since 1953 in 1989-91, they qualified for the 1990-91 European Cup. There, Sparta tied HC Lugano for top spot in Group B, which also included Polonia Bytom from Poland and Steaua Bucharest from Romania. That advanced them to the playoff round, which was played in a single knock-out format. They beat Dusseldorfer EG 6-2 in the quarter-finals and then lost 3-2 to eventual champions Djurgarden Stockholm in the semis. In the game for third place, they fell 4-3 to TPS Turku to finish fourth.

Three years later, after winning the last championship of the Czechoslovakian federal league, they were back in the European Cup in 1993-94. In the first round they once again topped Steaua, along with  Ferencvarosi Budapest and Ankara Buyuksehir, then finished second in a second-round group to the Milan Devils, ahead of Esbjerg IK of Denmark and Podhale Nowy Targ of Poland. In a third-round group, they came up pointless against Dynamo Moscow and a pair of Swedish clubs, Malmo IF and Brynas Gavle, and ranked eighth overall.

The European Hockey League ran four seasons starting in 1996-97 and Sparta participated all four years. Their best finishes were in the first year, where they placed fourth, and 1999-2000, where they placed second. The two years in the middle they were unable to get into the elite eight. Current Sparta captain Jaroslav Hlinka played all four years, and recorded 21 points (8+13) in 33 games.

In 1996-97, Sparta topped a tough group that included Slovan Bratislava, CSKA Moscow and CE Vienna, losing only once in six games. That put them in the quarter-finals against Czech rivals HC Ceske Budejovice. After tying the first leg in South Bohemia, Sparta won convincingly at home by a score of 9-3 to advance to the final four. In a one-game semi-final they lost 5-3 to TPS, then 4-3 to Frolunda Gothenburg to again place fourth in Europe. With 12 points (7+5) in nine games, left winger Richard Zemicka was named to the tournament all-start team.

Following a disappointing year, where they surprisingly lost twice to the Manchester Storm of Great Britain's high-flying but short-lived Superleague and failed to advance from the first round, they were one of the last 12 teams standing in 1998-99, but lost a home-and-home series to Adler Mannheim, which was decided in a penalty shootout on Prague ice. 

In 1999-2000, they exacted revenge on the Storm in the group stage, then beat the Nuremburg Ice Tigers in two straight games in the quarter-finals, to return to the final four. This time, they finally won the semi-final – 3-2 in overtime over Lugano – before falling 2-0 to Magnitogorsk in the final. Current CHL Board member Petr Briza was brilliant in goal for Sparta and was named to the tournament all-start team, along with right winger Vladimir Vujtek Jr. 

Two Czech titles in the late '90s qualified Sparta for the European Champions Cup in 2007 and 2008. The first one was over quickly, after losing two games to MSHK Zilina of Slovakia and HPK Hameenlinna of Finland. The next year they fared better, beating Karpat Oulu and Davos in the group stage, thanks to four goals from Tomas Netik. Once again in the European final, they once again met Magnitogorsk. Thanks to two goals from ex-Spartan Jan Marek, the Russian champs led 3-2 after two periods, then pulled away with two more goals in the third.

Another big international moment came for Sparta on 29 September 2011 when they hosted the New York Rangers at Tipsport Arena. In a carnival atmosphere, the Rangers won 2-0. Tomas Popperle was strong in goal for Sparta.

“It certainly was a big challenge for me and for the whole team,” Sparta forward Petr Tenkrat said after. “I think we started well, then we gave up two goals and the Rangers started to protect their lead. We had more chances and shots, it's just too bad that we weren't able to score. If we had, maybe it would have made things interesting.”

Part of the CHL establishment

A charter member of the European Trophy in 2010, Sparta were one of the 26 founding members of the Champions Hockey League in 2014.  In each of the competition's first three seasons, they have been among the last 16 teams standing.

Bad timing characterized each of their first two CHL campaigns. In 2014-15 they topped Group G, which included the Vaxjo Lakers, KalPa Kuopio and Mannheim. Then in the Round of 16 against Linkoping HC, they gave up a goal in the dying seconds to lose on aggregate. In 2015-16, they beat Geneve-Servette but were surprised by Storhamar Hamar in the group stage, then beat ZSC Lions Zurich in the Round of 32. In the first leg of the Round of 16, they beat Karpat 4-2, but the Finnish powerhouse rallied at home in the return game to win, with the decisive goal once again coming in the last minute of play.

In the group stage of 2016-17 they finished second behind Farjestad Karlstad and ahead of Comarch Cracovia. They then got revenge on Karpat in the Round of 32, pulled off a big comeback in the Round of 16 against HV71 Jonkoping, out-lasted SC Bern in the Quarter-Finals and twice beat a strong Vaxjo quad in the Semi-Finals. 

After losses in 2000 and 2008, Sparta once again find themselves in European club hockey's title game. Will the third time be the charm?