SC Bern have taken a stranglehold of Group M after their second straight win, a 3-1 decision in Linz over over the Black Wings. Read more in Gamecentre. 

Black Wings Linz knew that to have a chance against SC Bern they'd have to slow the pace down and they did – for one period. The visitors from the Swiss capital were patient, however, and took control of the game with three straight goals. Simon Moser, who scored a goal in the first game against Vitkovice, assisted on the first two goals in Linz. 

Dan Dasilva broke the shutout in the 46th minute, but that's all the offence the Wings would get as Leonardo Genoni – who backstopped HC Davos to the CHL Semi-Finals last season – stopped 22 of 23 shots to post his second win of 2016-17.

Linz head coach Rob Daum summed up, “It was a really tough game, because Bern has a good team. The problem was that we scored only one goal, which is not enough to win the game. Next time we should definitely score more. There was lot of good things in our game, but we didn’t win and that’s the most important thing. We must definitely work on our offence, because in the CHL the games won't get any easier, and the games against Kosice won’t be an exception.”

With the maximum six points from their two away games, Group M is now Bern's to lose. They need just one point from their two games on home ice to secure a spot in the Round of 32 – something they were unable to do a year ago – and four points would guarantee them top spot. 

“It’s always special to play against your former team,” said Linz centre Brett McLean, who played two years with Bern from 2009 to 2011. “When I played in Lugano I already played against Bern a couple of times, but also this game was kind of special for me. It was a tough game and we knew it was going to be like that. We played a decent game. Three goals against Bern are pretty good. Next time we must create more chances, because against Kosice it won’t be an easy game. In the CHL there are no easy games.”