Vojtěch Hradec marked his Sparta debut with a goal as the Prague side beat Vítkovice 3-0. The forward, who had just joined from Mladá Boleslav, scored in the 55th minute to settle the game after Sparta had taken an early lead through goals from Špaček and Kousal. Goaltender Josef Kořenář recorded a shutout.
Hradec said the move happened so quickly that he had only managed to say goodbye to his former teammates by text message. He travelled to Sparta the following day. He said the welcome from his new teammates had made the transition easier, and was pleased to be reunited with head coach Patrik Augusta, whom he knew from the under-20 national team.
Kristian Vesalainen won the puck with a forecheck and set up Hradec in front of goal for a finish he described as simple. “A stone fell from my heart,” Hradec said of scoring, adding that he hoped the goal would help the team start collecting wins. Sparta had also survived a four-minute penalty kill before Hradec’s goal.