In a thrilling game in northern Finland, Kärpät Oulu erased a two-goal third period deficit against Kölner Haie and won in a marathon shootout. Meanwhile, Lukko Rauma and HC Linköping both remain perfect with nine points each, while the Nottingham Panthers and HC Pardubice remain pointless.
Kärpät Oulu 3–2 Kölner Haie (SO)
Kölner Haie led 2–0 after two periods in Oulu, but Kärpät came back to tie it in the third and eventually won in a marathon eight-round shootout. Joonas Donskoi scored three times in the shootout, including the winner.
Köln was led by two points from Philip Riefers, who's just switching to playing defence after being a forward his entire career. "I’m having fun playing defence right now. There sure are some minor tweaks I have to make but I will get better with the time."
"We weren't sharp enough in the first two periods to beat team as good as Köln,"said Kärpät defenceman Adam Mashur, who scored the tying goal with 7:15 on the clock. "We had a good conversation during the second intermission in the locker room. I am glad it resulted in a way that we were able to turn the game to the direction we wanted."
Lukko Rauma 6–2 Nottingham Panthers
Lukko Rauma scored four times in the first period en route to a 6-2 home-ice win over the Nottingham Panthers. Aaron Gagnon and Ville Vahalahti recorded three points each for Lukko, while Brandon Benedict recorded two points for Nottingham. It's Lukko's third win in three games, while Nottingham has dropped three straight.
"You could see the difference in level (between the two teams) in the speed of playing," said Jerry Ahtola, who had a goal and an assist for Lukko. "We had lot of scoring chances during the game, but this score is okay."
HC Pardubice 3–6 Linköping HC
HC Linköping built up a 4–1 first-period lead on the road, allowed Pardubice to reduce the score to 4–3 in the second, then pulled away in the third to win 6–3. Broc Little led the Linköping with three points and Jakub Vrana had two.
"We are happy for the win, but the score certainly does not match what was happening on the ice," said Linköping coach Roger Melin. "Pardubice has proven to be a very strong team. We started a little sleepy and in the second period had large defensive lapses. Gradually, however, we were able to improve and maintain the lead."
"We started well and it resulted in the first goal," said Pardubice coach Zdenek Venera. "Then we played the worst five minutes in the game, we made some mistakes and Linköping made us pay. During the rest of the game, we created several chances but could not convert. Their fifth goal on the power-play ultimately decided it."