3 teams still with perfect ET record

North Division

Luleå HF is on the best way to qualify for the Red Bull Salute. They had only few problems in their 4-1 win in Plzen. With a perfect 5-0-0 record the Swedes stay first in North Division while Plzen is already out of competition with their 2 points. In the middle period Karl Fabricius and Linus Klasen had pathed the way for the guests while Jan Kovar had tied the match for the Czechs. Early in the third Pavel Skrbek scored for Luleå against his fellow countrymen and decided everything. Chris Abbott even increased the lead with a empty netter with 15 seconds left.

The second spot in the Division is probably going to Eisbären Berlin. The current German champions also won their fourth match. This time they beat HC Mountfield from Czech Republic with the tight result of 2-1. Matt Foy had brought the guests in front in the middle of the first period before Peter Mikus scored the equalizer only minutes later. In the end it was André Rankel who earned the match winner for Berlin at 37:23. In the last third HC Mountfield had several good occasions but failed to score and Eisbären goalie Sebastian Elwing saved his team the three points.

Hamburg Freezers also lost their second away game in ET. Local side Red Bull Salzburg from Austria had the better start and scored two quick goals through Andreas Kristler and Johannes Bischofberger. The guests had difficulties to find to their best play and when Colin Murphy scored at 50:08 the match was already in its ending phase. Just three minutes later Justin DiBenedetto destroyed all doubts whether there would be a home win or not with the 3-1. Both clubs now have 6 points and have only small chances left for the final tournament.

HC Kometa was the only team without a single point in competition. Well, they changed that fact against Finnish Kärpät Oulu but they couldn't avoid losing 2-3 after overtime. Leos Cermak scored for Brno at 34:48 but Jari Viuhkola and Tomas Plihal turned the match around for Kärpät before Roman Erat scored the 2-2 at 46:44. In the end the shootout had to find a winner and Toni Kähkönen earned the extra point for Oulu.

South Division

HV71 stays first in the South Division and with a four game winning streak they are still one of only three teams to earn all possible points so far. In Chomutov they added another convincing performance. In the middle period they did get a two-goal lead through Sebastian Strandberg and Johan Davidsson that was extended in the third by Oscar Sundh. Nikola Gajovsky scored for the hosts at 58:12 but more than the consolidation goal was not allowed by HV71. For Chomutov it was the first ET game without earning a point.

A great second period was decisive for Sparta Prague's win against Linköpings HC. The first period lead by Carl Södberg was equalized by Dominik Pacovsky in the second before Eric Himmelfarb get the lead back for the Swedes at 28:33. Still in the middle period Jan Hanzlik and Peter Jansky turned the result in favour of Sparta for the first time. With 3:28 to go in the third it was againt Pacovsky who decided the match. Now LHC pulled out their goalie and only 23 seconds later Dominik Simon made it 5-2 with an empty-netter.

KalPa Kuopio earned their second ET point this season in Bratislava against clear favourites Slovan but it could have been more. Matti Kuparinen and Artturi Lehkonen scored for a two-goal lead after period number one but Martin Stajnoch and Andrej Stastny brought the hosts back into the game. In the end it was Milan Kytnar who won the match for Slovan in overtime at 62:00. The KHL newcomers are still far from dominating anyone in ET with only one 3-point win in 7 games.

In front of 3,900 fans the Vienna Capitals already won their 3rd ET match (in 5 games) and could still get a qualification spot for Red Bull Salute although they are qualified anyway as co-hosts. On the other side Finnish Champions JYP also lost their fourth ET appearance this season. Kalteva opened the score for the Fins but Fraser, Soares and Fischer turned the match around easily. With 43 seconds left Roine could only cut the lead to 3-2.

West Division

Ingolstadt showed a tremendous moral when they tied the match against their Swedish rivals Färjestads BK 5 (!!!) times to go on and win the game in OT. The guests were always one step ahead but Ingolstadt, pushed by their fans, kept the game close with last-minute finishs - in the 1st Derek Hahn scored the 2-2 at 17:53, in the 2nd Michael Fröhlich scored the 3-3 at 39:34 and with 1:20 left in the 3rd John Laliberte even made it 5-5. With the momentum on their side the hosts even grabbed the extra point when Joe Motzko ended the overtime at 61:09. For Färjestads BK that missed the first place - now in possession of Ingolstadt - has reason to be angry about the unnecessary loss of two points. 

Adler Mannheim is one of the ET teams with the biggest fan support. Today again 6,435 people showed up to see their team battle Swedish side Frölunda HC. As yesterday the Eagles lost with a two-goal margin. It took only 1:02 until Dick Axelsson opened the score for the guests. Later in the period Anton Axelsson earned a deserved two-goal lead. After the first break the hosts improved significantly and at 40:28 Michael Glumac was succesful in a power play situation. In an open finish it was again Anton Axelsson who decided the match for Frölunda at 51:19. For Mannheim the Red Bull Salute is already out of reach. They stay last in their group with only 2 points in 4 games. Frölunda now is second with 9 points.  

 

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