Canadian defenseman Carter Robertson scored twice and added an assist to lead HC Škoda Plzeň to a 4:1 victory over Banes Motor České Budějovice in the Czech Tipsport Extraliga, moving the team up to fourth place in the standings.
The Thursday evening fixture in Plzeň, Czechia, saw the hosts capitalize on a high-scoring second period and secure their third home win. The match drew an announced crowd of 3,946 spectators.
Robertson Drives Plzeň Attack After Early Goaltender Injury
The game shifted significantly in the ninth minute when České Budějovice starting goaltender Jan Strmeň sustained an injury, forcing him to leave the ice in visible discomfort after stopping an early scoring bid from Plzeň forward Teplý. Backup Matyáš Mařík took over in net for the visitors, who had not won on the road for four consecutive games.
Plzeň broke the scoreless deadlock at 23. Robertson collected a loose puck and scored, with Filip assisting. České Budějovice briefly equalized in the 37th minute through Jan Ordoš, who scored shorthanded. However, Plzeň responded immediately; Ville Petman restored the home side’s advantage at 37:18 by poking home a rebound from a blue-line shot, with Robertson and Teplý assisting.
Robertson struck again just before the second intermission. Forward Christophe Lalancette won an offensive zone faceoff directly to the Canadian blueliner, who unleashed a shot past Mařík’s right post at 39:37 to make it 3:1.
Plzeň Moves to Fourth in Extraliga Table
The 4:1 victory propelled Plzeň to 14 points through nine games, placing them fourth in the Extraliga table behind league leaders HC Oceláři Třinec (24 points), HC Dynamo Pardubice (21 points), and HC Energie Karlovy Vary (15 points). České Budějovice sits sixth with 13 points after nine contests.
Plzeň assistant coach Václav Pletka pointed to the timing of Robertson’s second goal as the decisive turning point of the match. České Budějovice coach David Vrbata acknowledged that his squad struggled to generate sustained offense five-on-five during the middle frames and could not recover from the late second-period blow.
Robertson Leads Extraliga Defensemen in scoring
Robertson’s multi-point performance elevated his season totals to nine points (three goals and six assists) across his first nine Extraliga appearances, making him the highest-scoring defenseman in the league and Plzeň’s most productive player overall. The signing from the Slovakian league also played in the Champions Hockey League prior to the domestic fixture.
“I feel great here. Everyone welcomed me wonderfully, my wife and I love it here and I hope we can add another year,” Robertson told Sport.cz. “Speed-wise I don’t suffer here, the other things will just come somehow by themselves.”
Plzeň forward Jan Schleiss sealed the 4:1 final score with an empty-net goal at 57:56 following a Budějovice timeout and pulled goaltender, converting a setup from Rohlík. Goaltender Malík finished the night stopping 23 shots for Plzeň, while Mařík turned aside the majority of attempts after taking over crease duties in the opening period.
Plzeň returns to action on Sunday for the 10th round of the Extraliga schedule, traveling to face HC Kometa Brno.
