Sports News

In Sports News this Monday: Ledecká fails to clinch third triumph in Snowboard World Cup; hockey's Rittich allows just one goal in Calgary Flame win; Petr Čech one away from magical 200th clean sheet; 19-year-old footballer Zinedin Mustedanagič returns to Sparta.

Snowboard: Ledecká ninth at Cortina

Ester Ledecká, photo: CTK

Czech snowboarder Ester Ledecká, seeking her third triumph in a row on the FIS World Cup circuit this season came up short at Cortina at the weekend; while she qualified in the ladies’ parallel slalom she was defeated in the first knockout stage by fellow competitor Julie Zogg. She ended up finishing ninth overall.

Afterwards, here is what the racer had to say.

“Not every day is perfect and that’s just the way it is in sport. Next time, I’ll hopefully do better. I’m glad that I had great results over two days here and although this race didn’t work out, it was still a top ten finish and I enjoyed the race a lot.”

Ledecká remains in first spot on the snowboard parallel circuit after three races with 2290 points. Austria’s Sabine Schöffmann is second, with 1820 and Switzerland’s Zogg third, with 1450.

NHL: Rittich, called up from farm team, backstops Calgary Flames to 6:1 win

David Rittich (left), photo: CTK

Jihlava native David Rittich, called up from the farm team Stockton Heat in the AHL, made 16 saves against the National Hockey’s League’s Vancouver Canucks to backstop the Calgary Flames to a 6:1 win. The victory was the 25-year-old goalie’s third this season.

In other NHL action, Florida forward and fellow Czech Radim Vrbata scored once against Las Vegas, the first time he found the back of the next since a hat-trick on October 26. All the same, the Panthers lost 5:2.

Hockey: Czechs take second place in Channel One Cup

Czech Republic - Sweden, photo: CTK

Also in hockey, the Czech team beat Sweden in their last match of the Channel One Cup staged in Moscow on Sunday.

The Czechs won 4:1 and secured second place in the tournament. It was won by hosts, Russia. They won all three games in the tournament for the first time since 2013. Wins against Finland and Canada preceded the victory against Sweden.

Premier League: Čech notches 199th Premier League clean sheet

Petr Čech, photo: Filip Jandourek

In football, former Czech international keeper Petr Čech clinched his 199th clean sheet in the Premier League in Arsenal’s 1:0 win against Newcastle United. The win moves Arsenal into the top four in the league. Čech was rarely tested during the match apart from a late rally by the Magpies.

The goalkeeper is likely to face a much tougher test in the league when Arsenal pay host to high-scoring Liverpool team on December 22.

Czech top-flite: Mustedanagič returns to Sparta

In the Czech domestic football league, 19-year-old Zinedin Mustedanagič of Bosnia and Hercegovina returns to Sparta Prague after a year on loan to Dukla, where he completed 18 league matches and scored three times. Both clubs published the news on their websites.

Mustedanagič has been in the Czech Republic since the age of 13 and is considered one of Sparta’s top talents in his age group. Before being loaned to Dukla, he played five matches for his home club.