A pair of Austrian clubs won on Thursday, with the Vienna Capitals narrowly winning 2-1 in Oslo and Villach SV winning 4-1 on home ice over the Briancon Diables Rouges. Adler Mannheim also won on home ice while Fribourg-Gottéron edged PSG Zlin in overtime.
EV Zug 3-2 ERC Ingolstadt
ERC Ingolstadt went into Zug and out-shot the home team 37-18, but Tobias Stephan made 35 saves to win the game for Zug. Two goals 41 seconds apart put Zug up 2-0 in the first period and Ingolstadt was playing catch-up the rest of the way.
SC Bern 0-4 Ocelari Trinec
Visiting Ocelari Trinec scored three times in the first period, then cruised to a 4-0 win in Bern. Jakub Osrava and Lukas Zejdl each scored twice and Peter Hamerlik made 28 saves for the shutout. Combined with their 7-0 win on Game Day 1, Trinec has now out-scored Bern 11-0 in Group E.
"Against Bern today we played a good game again," said Trinec head coach Jiri Kalous. "We played smart and protected the shutout well. Peter Hamerlik was excellent, especially in the second period when we were under occasional pressure. It was important that we went step-by-step to win and beat Bern for the second time. They are a very good team, and even though they failed to score against us, it was not an easy game. For us, this victory is huge in terms of the psyche and confidence of the players."
PSG Zlin 2-3 Fribourg-Gottéron (OT)
PSG Zlin and Fribourg-Gottéron played a fast-paced back-and-forth game that Fribourg eventually won in overtime on Gregory Mauldin's second goal of the game. Zlin earned a single point on home ice thanks to Jiri Marusak's tying goal with 1:21 left in the third period.
“We played well at the start but we lost the pace after the first goal," Zlin coach Rostislav Vlach said afterward. "We couldn’t adjust to the quality of the ice and our play was very complicated. We improved at the end, but our opponent played a bit better and more simply and stronger today.”
“We expected a tough game," said Fribourg coach Hans Kossman. "Zlin is a very good and disciplined team, and we had to work hard and wait for our chances. We are happy for this win. It was a big game for us, because we needed to get some points to stay in the running.”
Adler Mannheim 3-1 KalPa Kuopio
dler Mannheim won on home ice in a spirited affair with KalPa Kuopio. Jonathan Rheault scored the game's first goal on the power play and the last one into an empty net. The score was 1-0 in the third period when the teams traded goals - Juusso Riikola tied it for KalPa but Glen Metropolit scored the game-winner with 6:07 to play.
Villach SV 4-1 Briancon Diables Rouges
illach SV scored 2 goals in the first 40 seconds of the game and never looked back. The score was 4-0 before Cedric di Dio Balsamo scored Briancon's only goal late in the second period. John Lammers scored twice for the victors and Francois Fortier had a goal and an assist.
Vålerenga Oslo 1-2 Vienna Capitals
Kevin Puschnik broke a 1-1 tie with 11:18 remaining in regulation time, giving the Vienna Capitals a 2-1 road victory in Oslo, the two teams traded goals in the second period - Alexander Bonsaksen gave Valerenga the lead but Chris Foucault tied it five minutes later. An evenly-played game, Vålerenga out-shot Vienna 24-23.
"It was a tough game and this was an important victory for us," said Vienna goalie Matt Zaba. "We knew the game would be tough, and that Vålerenga would be desperate for a victory. They played good and they could easily have won the game as well. (Steffen) Søberg was awesome in goal today as well."
"Are you sure Zaba wasn't talking about the last game?" Søberg quipped when he was told of his opposite number's quote. "It was two goals that I wouldn’t let in on a good day. That bothers me, especially when the team is playing well. We got several chances and played a lot in the attacking zone on the power play, but the puck was moving too slowly. Vienna were just waiting for the shots, and holding us easily on the outside. That makes it hard to win."