Ocelari Trinec had a chance to win Group E at home but weren't able to, and now it's wide-open with three teams still having a chance to win it. A regulation win by either Trinec or Tappara Tampere, however, will secure it for that team.
by Derek O'Brien, with contribution from Daniel Jezek
Ocelari Trinec entered Game Day 5 leading Group E by four points and had a chance to clinch the group title on home ice. Trailing them were the three other teams in the group: Tappara Tampere, the Stavanger Oilers and SC Bern all with five points.
Before a boisterous and nearly full Werk Arena Trinec tried to wrap up their spot among the final 16, out-shooting Tappara 26–11 over two periods, but the game remained scoreless thanks to goaltender Dominik Hrachovina, who was playing his first game with Tappara's A-team. The two teams then traded goals in the first eight minutes of the third period, but Olli Palola's power-play goal with 3:21 to play earned Tappara three points on a road to bring them to within one point of the group lead.
"I enjoyed the game very much. It was my first game in a Tappara jersey," said the ecstatic 20-year-old Hrachovina. "The coach came to me yesterday evening and told me that I would be the goalkeeper. I love hockey, I wasn't even nervous. Maybe it was my first game for Tappara but it's still a hockey game."
"It was a very bad game by us," said an understandably disappointed Vaclav Varada, the Trinec assistant coach. "Tappara had a lot of scoring chances and we weren't able to put any pressure on them. We managed to score the first goal of the game, but after that we didn't play well enough to win it. We made a big mistake just before Tappara's first goal, then they scored a beautiful power-play goal."
The winner of Bern–Stavanger in regulation time could also move to within one point of Trinec, but for most of the night it looked like this one would be decided in extra time. The game was scoreless for 53 minutes, but Cramo Top Scorer Christian Dahl-Andersen finally got the visiting 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 joined Trinec and Tappara into the thick of the race for first.
The same two match-ups on Game Day 6 will decide the final standings in Group E, only this time the games will be played in Finland and Norway. Because these teams are so close together, there are a couple of potential three-way-tie scenarios. A three-point win by either Trinec or Tappara will be enough to earn first place, but beyond that things get a little fuzzy. Stavanger have a chance to win the group too, but they need a three-point win and hope for Tappara–Trinec to be decided in extra time for either team. Bern have no chance of advancing – the best that can happen for them is to win in regulation and have Trinec also win in regulation to force a three-way tie for second place. However, eight points will not be enough to get a wild-card spot.
Group E standings
| Team | GP | W | OTW | OTL | L | GF:GA | GDF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocelari Trinec | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19:9 | +10 | 9 |
| Tappara Tampere | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16:15 | +1 | 8 |
| Stavanger Oilers | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 14:15 | -1 | 8 |
| SC Bern | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 9:19 | -10 | 5 |
Schedule and results
| Date | Time | Group | Home | Away | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21.08.2014 | 17:30 | Group E | Ocelari Trinec | SC Bern | 7:0 (2:0, 3:0, 2:0) |
| 21.08.2014 | 18:30 | Group E | Tappara Tampere | Stavanger Oilers | 7:3 (1:3, 4:0, 2:0) |
| 23.08.2014 | 16:00 | Group E | Tappara Tampere | SC Bern | 3:5 (1:0, 1:4, 1:1) |
| 23.08.2014 | 20:00 | Group E | Ocelari Trinec | Stavanger Oilers | 4:5 (1:1, 2:3, 1:1) |
| 04.09.2014 | 19:45 | Group E | SC Bern | Ocelari Trinec | 0:4 (0:3, 0:1, 0:0) |
| 04.09.2014 | 20:00 | Group E | Stavanger Oilers | Tappara Tampere | 2:1 (0:1, 1:0, 0:0, 0:0, 1:0) |
| 06.09.2014 | 17:00 | Group E | SC Bern | Tappara Tampere | 4:3 (0:0, 2:0, 1:3, 0:0, 1:0) |
| 06.09.2014 | 17:30 | Group E | Stavanger Oilers | Ocelari Trinec | 2:3 (2:2, 0:1, 0:0) |
| 23.09.2014 | 17:30 | Group E | Ocelari Trinec | Tappara Tampere | 1:2 (0:0, 0:0, 1:2) |
| 23.09.2014 | 19:45 | Group E | SC Bern | Stavanger Oilers | 0:2 (0:0, 0:0, 0:2) |
| 07.10.2014 | 18:30 | Group E | Tappara Tampere | Ocelari Trinec | |
| 07.10.2014 | 19:45 | Group E | Stavanger Oilers | SC Bern |
Game Day 6 possibilities
For an explanation of how the final 16 teams are determined, click here.
Ocelari Trinec: away vs Tappara. Clinch 1st place with 3 points, or with 2 points combined with 2 or fewer points from Stavanger. With 1 point, they would lose a tie-breaker with Tappara, but a 2nd place wild-card would be a remote possibility UNLESS Stavanger get 3 or 2 points. Cannot advance with 0 points. Lose tie-breaker vs both Tappara and/or Stavanger.
Tappara Tampere: home vs Trinec. Clinch 1st place with 3 points, or with 2 points combined with 2 or fewer points from Stavanger. With 2 points combined with 3 points from Stavanger, 2nd place wild-card is possible, but highly unlikely. Cannot advance with 1 or 0 points. Win tie-breaker vs both Trinec and/or Stavanger.
Stavanger Oilers: home vs Bern. Clinch 1st place with 3 points, combined with less than 3 points from both Trinec and Tappara (IE, must be a 2-1 points split). 2nd place wild-card highly unlikely with 2 points, and not possible at all if Tappara also take 2 points. Cannot advance with 1 or 0 points. Win tie-breaker vs Trinec, lose tie-breaker vs Tappara.
Tie-breaker Notice: Tappara would beat Trinec on head-to-head points, Tappara would beat Stavanger on head-to-head points, Stavanger would beat Trinec on last year's national championship position (tied in head-to-head points, goal difference, goals scored). In the event of a three-way tie for 10 points, the order of finish would be 1. Tappara, 2. Stavanger, 3. Trinec.