In Tuesday's late action, Lulea Hockey beat Lukko Rauma in a match-up of perfect clubs, ZSC Lions Zurich won in overtime against the Vienna Capitals, while the Stavanger Oilers, Djurgarden Stockholm and Farjestad Karlstad all won to give themselves a fighting chance of advancing. Finally, the Nottingham Panthers picked up a huge victory for British hockey, getting their first three points.
Nottingham Panthers 3–1 Hamburg Freezers
Both teams entered the game winless, but not many people likely guessed which one would break the goose-egg. Nathan Robinson and Robert Lachowicz each scored a goal and an assist for Nottingham. While Hamburg fired 35 shots at Craig Kowalski, they only beat him once, as their shooters continue to be snake-bitten in the CHL with only two goals in five games.
"It's unbelievable really," commented Lachowicz, who scored the insurance goal early in the third period. "In pre-season we knew they were going to be good teams. Despite the losses against Lulea we got confidence. It’s a great experience for the guys that came through the system."
"I am disappointed and angry about our performance," said Hamburg captain Thomas Oppenheimer at the other end of the emotional spectrum. "We just played poorly and made stupid mistakes. That was not good enough, let's not beat around the bush. I'm sorry for our fans who made the long journey here and supported us."
Djurgarden Stockholm 8–0 PSG Zlin
PSG Zlin was battling Fribourg for first place in Group D in Game Days 3 and 4, but a monstrous defeat in the Swedish capital has essentially ended their playoff hopes. The game was scoreless until late in the first period, but Zlin ran into penalty trouble in the second and Djurgarden scored four times on the power play, including twice 5-on-3. Markus Ljung and Marcus Hogstrom each had four-point games, while Mantas Armalis made 30 saves for the shutout.
Lulea Hockey 3–1 Lukko Rauma
Both Lulea Hockey and Lukko Rauma entered this game perfect, but only one would be able to continue that trend and it was Lulea on home ice, which all but assures them first place in the group, barring a huge defeat in Rauma in the last game. The score was tied 1–1 in the third period, but Jonathan Grandstrom scored the winning goal in the 45th minute. Despite the loss, Lukko are still in good shape to advance as a wildcard, but points in the last game would help their cause.
"We deserved the win. It was good to get a lot of practice on the power play. We play well on the power play but need to be more active in front of the net,"said Lulea's Lucas Wallmark, who opened the scoring on the power play in the second period. Describing his goal, he said it was a "great play from (Daniel) Zaar and Chris (Abbott). I sneaked down to the far post. Chris found me and I had an open net."
Farjestad Karlstad 4–1 Valerenga Oslo
On their shor road trip to Karlstad, Valerenga got an early power play and Tobias Lindstrom scored to put them into the lead. Farjestad pushed back starting in the second period, though, and went on to win 4–1 led by Shawn Lalonde's two assists. Despite the win, Farjestad have no chance to win the group and very little chance to grab a second-place wildcard spot.
ZSC Lions Zurich 2–1 Vienna Capitals (OT)
In a huge game between two teams battling for top spot in Group B, ZSC Lions Zurich got an overtime goal from Chris Baltisberger, who just re-joined the Lions after attending an NHL training camp. This result closes the gap between the teams to two points, while a regulation win for Zurich would have had the two teams tied. Patrik Bartschi and Jonathan Ferland traded first period goals, and then goalies Lukas Flueler and Matt Zaba were perfect over the last 40 minutes of regulation time.
"I was happy to be back on the team after the camp with the Edmonton Oilers and of course it was nice to get the win and I’m always happy when I can help with a goal," Baltisberger said afterward. "And of course I’m happy that we got that extra point."
"They’re a good hockey team, we reacted well, but they came out hard," said Ferland, the Vienna captain. "We made some adjustments between the first and the second period and we were better and had the better chances, chances to win the game. We just didn’t put them in and in the end they got the last goal. But it was a good battle, everybody played hard and we have to be proud of that game we played today."
SC Bern 0–2 Stavanger Oilers
The game was scoreless for 53 minutes, but Cramo Top Scorer Christian Dahl-Andersen finally got the visiting Stavanger Oilers on the board late in the third period, and they added an empty-netter for a 2–0 win. Ruben Smith made 28 saves for the shutout as Stavanger moved to within a single point of the Group E lead in a very close race with Ocelari Trinec and Tappara Tampere.