Litvinov vs Black Wings Linz

Litvínov could not have asked for a better start. Matúš Sukeľ forced a save from Dylan Wells, and Dominik Volejníček buried the rebound at 1:03 to put the Czech side up 1–0 inside the first minute.

The lead lasted barely two minutes. Trenton Bliss found space in front of the Litvínov net and jammed home a feed from the corner to make it 1–1 at 2:53. Then, with Litvínov on the power play at 6:27, Graham Knott jumped on a turnover, broke clear, and slid the puck through Pavel Čajan's pads for a shorthanded goal that flipped the game to 2–1 Linz.

The first period ended early after a heavy hit from Adam Polášek damaged the boards, requiring a repair delay. The remainder of the period was played after the break, with Čajan keeping Litvínov in touch by stopping a point-blank chance in the dying seconds.

Litvínov dominated territorially in the middle period but found Wells in inspired form. The Black Wings goaltender denied Filip Tittl's drive with his shoulder, among several saves. At the other end, Čajan matched him, robbing a Linz forward with a sharp glove save midway through the period.

The pressure finally told at 37:20. Ondřej Kaše worked the puck to the net front, and David Kämpf — playing his first competitive minutes for Litvínov since returning from nine NHL seasons — swept in the rebound to make it 2–2.

The winner came at 45:25 in the third. Petr Koblasa wound up from the left circle on the power play and beat Wells with a shot that found its way through traffic, giving Litvínov a 3–2 advantage. Linz pulled Wells for an extra attacker in the final minute but could not force overtime.

The game swung when Litvínov killed off a Linz power play midway through the second period without damage, then scored five minutes later through Kämpf. That sequence erased the shorthanded goal that had given Linz its lead and shifted momentum decisively. Litvínov outshot Linz 14–6 in the second period and never trailed again.

Pavel Čajan (Litvínov) — Made 29 saves on 31 shots, including a standout glove stop in the second period when the game was still 2–1. His work kept Litvínov within reach long enough for the offence to wake up.

David Kämpf (Litvínov) — Scored the equaliser in his first appearance for the club since his NHL stint with Chicago, Toronto and Seattle. His net-front finish at 37:20 was the reward for sustained second-period pressure.

Petr Koblasa (Litvínov) — Scored the winning goal on the power play at 45:25, his hard shot from the circle finding the mark. It was the only power-play goal of the night across both sides.

Dylan Wells (Black Wings Linz) — Made 31 saves and kept his team in the game for 45 minutes, but the dam broke on the third-period power play.

Player of the match: Pavel Čajan — his timely saves, especially in the second period, were the foundation of Litvínov's comeback.

Litvínov held a 34–31 edge in shots on goal, a gap that widened to 14–6 in the second period when they tilted the ice after the first-intermission repairs. The shot clock tells the story of a game that started evenly but saw Litvínov seize control as it wore on.

Special teams told a sharp tale: Litvínov went 1/4 on the power play; Linz went 0/5 with a man advantage. But Linz's shorthanded goal meant that even special-teams net contribution favoured Litvínov only marginally. The 5–4 penalty count reflects a disciplined but physical game — the first-period board repair was the only notable incident.

The match is a pre-season friendly, but the result carries context for both camps. Litvínov, who finished bottom of the Czech Extraliga regular season in 2025/26 with 43 points before surviving relegation, are rebuilding around a nucleus that now includes Kämpf. A 3–0 win over Piráti Chomutov on 13 August and this comeback victory suggest improvement in the early stages of preparation.

For Linz, the defeat is a narrow one against a Czech Extraliga side. The Austrian ICE Hockey League team, coached by Philipp Lukas, continues its pre-season with a Sunday fixture against ERC Ingolstadt (18:00 UTC) — also at IceForum Latsch — before opening the regular season in September.

Litvínov face HC Falkensteiner Pustertal on Sunday 23 August at 14:00 UTC to close out the Vinschgau Cup, then return to Czech preparation with two fixtures against Energie Karlovy Vary on 27 August and 3 September.

A competitive pre-season contest that showed Litvínov's resilience after falling behind to a shorthanded goal they will want to review. The goaltending was the decisive department — Čajan's five-bell saves in the middle frame contrasted with a period where Wells was beaten cleanly on the game-winner. Litvínov's early preparation looks sharper than their 2025/26 form would suggest, but the real tests begin when the Extraliga season opens.