It wasn't easy, but an overtime win for Djurgarden in Rouen clinches first place in the group. Read more in Gamecentre. 

When HC Davos dropped a point in their visit to Rouen last week, it seemed to open the door wider for Djurgarden Stockholm to win the group. It turned out they needed that breathing room, however, as once again the Dragons forced their visitors to overtime and once again the difference was a power-play goal – this one by Robin Press to win the group.

The fact that this game was close is not a big surprise, as Rouen has managed to avoid getting blown out so far, despite being outplayed, thanks in large part to the goaltending of Dany Sabourin. Sabourin again was big, as the Dragons were outshot 42-21 but took this game to overtime. 

Djurgarden opened the scoring at the 2:40 mark when defenceman Adam Ollas-Mattsson led a rush into the zone and fired a low shot through a crowd of players. Rouen tied it just past the eight-minute mark, as Joran Reynaud circled the net and found Damien Raux going to the front and he one-touched it in from close range. 

Djurgarden regained the lead a few minutes later on a disputed play, as it appeared the net might have been dislodged before Gustav Possler put it in, but after video review a goal was awarded. Then Djurgarden opened up a two-goal lead in the 27th minute – just after Mikael Tellqvist had made a big save on a breakaway at one end, they came right back the other way. Sabourin stopped the first two shots, but he had no chance on Henrik Eriksson's third shot.

With the score now 3-1, it appeared the scare for Djurgarden was over, but spurred on by their home fans, who cheered every rush, the Dragons got one goal back just over two minutes later when Francois-Pierre Guenette's shot from a sharp angle found space between Tellqvist and the near-side post. Ile Lacroix went nuts, and three and a half minutes later it got even louder when they tied it on the power play – this time Tellqvist stopped Guenette's initial shot, but Loic Lamperier was there to put in the rebound.

There was no further scoring in regulation time but there were chances – especially for Djurgarden, who had four straight power plays, including seven seconds of 5-on-3 time in the last minute of the second period. The home fans oohed and ahhed with every change of possession, but the Dragons managed to escape and get the game to overtime. 

In overtime, Rouen got a fifth straight penalty and, playing 4-on-3, Robin Press's wrister from the top of the slot ended it to give first place to Djurgarden. 

"I think they battled hard today, so they were tough to beat," said Djurgarden head coach Robert Ohlsson. "Every time time Rouen crossed centre people were cheering – really great fans here. I think we're ready for the next stage. We knew we needed two points today to take the group, so I think we're ready for the next step."