After shutting out EV Zug on Game Day 5, SaiPa Lappeenranta are now in the driver's seat in Group H, needing only a single point in their last game to clinch top spot.
by Derek O'Brien, with contribution from Tomas Chudy
Heading into Game Day 5, Group H had already been whittled down to two teams, with EV Zug hold a one-point lead over SaiPa Lappeenranta, as the two teams set to face off in the Finnish city. It was SaiPa who took the three points on home ice to leap-frog their Swiss counterparts into first place.
With a dominant first period in which they out-shot Zug 19–4, SaiPa scored twice, then played solid defence the rest of the way to earn the 3–0 win. Simo-Pekka Riikola had a goal and an assist and Jussi Markkanen made 12 saves for the shutout against his old team. With SaiPa now two points ahead, they can wrap up the group with a single point in Ostrava on Game Day 6 as they hold the tie-breaker with Zug, thanks winning both head-to-head encounters.
In the group's other game, between two teams with no chance of advancing, ERC Ingolstadt and Vitkovice Ostrava played an exciting, offensive game that went to a shootout, where visiting Vitkovice prevailed. Rudolf Huna scored a late goal to give Vitkovice the lead, but Jared Ross tied it with just one second on the clock to earn Ingolstadt a point.
"We arrived with a completely changed team," explained Vitkovice coach Peter Oremus. "We lost nine players due to injuries, so we came here with very young players. The young players played really well. Basically we are very satisfied with the results but it's a shame that it's not a three-point win just because we got scored on in the last second. We're also very satisfied with the goals on the power play because sometimes that's been a problem for us. Today we were effective on the power play."
"It was a tough game. I thought that we played very well," said Ingolstadt coach Larry Hurras. "We dominated five-on-five but the difference was the special teams and for sure the power play. I think Peter Oremus's team did a good job. I think coming back from 2–0 down and going to a shootout is a positive. Another positive thing was the young guys coming in today – Stephan Kronthaler, Eddy Leitans, Martin Davidek. They came in and made a big impact on the game. We need to have more from some of our guys."
As mentioned, neither Vitkovice nor Ingolstadt can advance, but they can both play spoilers on their home ice. On 7 October Vitkovice host SaiPa and Ingolstadt host Zug.
Group G standings
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF:GA | GDF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SaiPa Lappeenranta | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 15:10 | +5 | 11 |
| EV Zug | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12:11 | +1 | 9 |
| Vitkovice Ostrava | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17:17 | 0 | 6 |
| ERC Ingolstadt | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 13:19 | -6 | 4 |
Schedule and results
| Date | Time | Group | Home | Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.08.2014 | 17:00 | Group H | Vitkovice Ostrava | ERC Ingolstadt | 5:1 (0:0, 2:1, 3:0) |
| 21.08.2014 | 19:45 | Group H | EV Zug | SaiPa Lappeenranta | 1:2 (1:1, 0:1, 0:0) |
| 23.08.2014 | 17:00 | Group H | Vitkovice Ostrava | EV Zug | 2:5 (0:0, 0:2, 2:3) |
| 23.08.2014 | 17:45 | Group H | ERC Ingolstadt | SaiPa Lappeenranta | 4:1 (1:0, 2:1, 1:0) |
| 04.09.2014 | 18:30 | Group H | SaiPa Lappeenranta | Vitkovice Ostrava | 4:3 (0:0, 1:2, 2:1, 0:0, 1:0) |
| 04.09.2014 | 19:45 | Group H | EV Zug | ERC Ingolstadt | 3:2 (2:1, 1:0, 0:1) |
| 06.09.2014 | 16:00 | Group H | SaiPa Lappeenranta | ERC Ingolstadt | 5:2 (2:1, 2:1, 1:0) |
| 06.09.2014 | 19:45 | Group H | EV Zug | Vitkovice Ostrava | 3:2 (2:0, 0:1, 1:1) |
| 23.09.2014 | 18:30 | Group H | SaiPa Lappeenranta | EV Zug | 3:0 (2:0, 1:0, 0:0) |
| 23.09.2014 | 19:30 | Group H | ERC Ingolstadt | Vitkovice Ostrava | 4:5 (0:2, 2:1, 2:1, 0:0, 0:1) |
| 07.10.2014 | 17:00 | Group H | Vitkovice Ostrava | SaiPa Lappeenranta | |
| 07.10.2014 | 19:30 | Group H | ERC Ingolstadt | EV Zug |
Game Day 6 possibilities
For an explanation of how the final 16 teams are determined, click here.
SaiPa Lappeenranta: away vs Vitkovice. Clinch 1st with 1 or more point. Also finish 1st with 0 points if Zug take 2 or less. 2nd place wild-card possible but not guaranteed with 0 points, combined with 3 from Zug.
EV Zug: away vs Ingolstadt. Clinch 1st with 3 points, combined with 0 from SaiPa. If SaiPa take 1 or more point, a 2nd place wild-card is still possible with 1 or more point, with the likelihood increasing greatly with each point earned.