Sparta Prague got two goals from Jakub Konečný – one of the highlight-reel variety – and goaltender Jakub Neužil made 28 saves in his CHL debut to defeat TPS Turku 3-2.

Desperate for their first win of the competition, TPS started strong and generated plenty of shots and drew an early power play, but Jakub Neužil was steady in his first CHL start.

At 11:41 it was Sparta striking first. Tomáš Pavelka found Konečný with a pass to the neutral zone, and the 19-year-old Buffalo Sabres prospect was off to the races. Konečný split the TPS defence, then took a slash in the leg, and as the referee’s arm went into the air for what surely would have been a penalty shot, he shot it through Eetu Anttila for the only goal of the first period.

Sparta came with pressure early in the second and extended their lead in the 26th minute, with Ladislav Zikmund’s backhand pass from behind the net finding Jan Buchtele, who was initially stopped but stayed with it and scored the 2-0 goal.

Sparta had a chance to add to their lead on a four-minute power play after Filip Sandberg was called for roughing and then given an additional unsportsmanlike conduct minor for arguing. But TPS killed it off and then capitalized on their own power play late in the period, with Mitch Hults one-timing a pass from Jimi Suomi to get his team on the board and bring them within a goal heading into the final period.

And they tied it on another power play early in period three. Markus Nurmi stationed in the slot finished off a nice tic-tac-toe passing play with the relay coming from 17-year-old Slovak Juraj Slakovský down low.

But TPS’s joy was short-lived as it took just 63 seconds for Sparta to regain the lead. Patrik Prymula won a battle for the puck along the boards and centred out front to David Vittouch. Anttila stopped his shot but Konečný was there for the rebound and his second goal of the game.

Desperate to stay alive, TPS began pushing for the equalizer as time ticked away. They were given their chance when Michal Řepík was whistled for tripping with 1:48 left, following a lengthy delay with Antilla on the bench. But although they came close, they couldn’t get the tying goal, leaving TPS with just a single point after four games.