Wolfsburg Moving On

Last season’s third-place finishers in the DEL have showcased why they should be a team to be considered for the European Trophy as Grizzlys Wolfsburg succeeded in qualifying for the CHL Playoffs for a second time.

Their 4-1 victory over TPS Turku, followed up by a 5-4 come-from-behind win on home ice, gave the German side 13 out of a possible 18 points, and now Wolfsburg will join the Straubing Tigers and Red Bull Munich as German representatives in the Round of 16.

Shootout Thriller

When the top two teams in Group C met, there was no doubt fans were in for a battle as Tappara Tampere and Red Bull Munich faced off at the Olympia-Eisstadion in Germany. With both clubs level at 3 after OT the shootout was needed to determine the winner.

Five rounds later, it was Niko Ojamäki's wrister that would eventually lift the Finns over the Germans and help cement Tappara's place at the top of their Group standings.

Game Day 6

So Close and Yet So Far Away

The Stavanger Oilers set themselves up nicely to reach the Round of 16 with a 4-2 win over Ilves Tampere, and only needed Red Bull Salzburg to lose in regulation to advance into the postseason.

But Peter Hochkofler's equaliser would eventually dash the Norwegians' hopes of a date with the Playoffs, as Salzburg and Fribourg-Gottéron would go on to settle things in a shootout.

Despite coming up short, the Austrians' one point was enough to push them through since Salzburg won the tiebreaker by having defeated Stavanger in their previous head-to-head match-ups and accruing an aggregate point score of 4:2.

A Blowout

Victory kept chasing Villach SV, but they were always just a bit faster. This continued to be the case for the Austrian side as Straubing dished out an eight-goal game while denying every chance from Villach. This was the club's first CHL appearance since the 2014/15 installment where they went 2-4 in six games.

Now, eight years later, the Austrians are seeing another opportunity at European hockey glory come and go while Straubing in their debut season are looking forward to what awaits them in the CHL postseason.

David (Zabolotny) vs. Goliath

Comarch Cracovia entered their rematch against Färjestad Karlstad with the understanding that they wouldn’t be moving on, but that didn’t stop them from putting on one of their best matches of the season in front of their home fans.

After falling behind three minutes into the game, the Polish side would eventually find their legs and go on to serve the Swedes one of the biggest upsets of the season in part thanks to the phenomenal play of their netminder David Zabolotny who halted 42 of 45 shots.

Mountfield on a Mission

Eisbären Berlin and Mountfield HK were in familiar territory following 40 minutes of play as both sides remained close, knotted at 2 apiece. But the scales quickly tipped in favour of the Czech side for a second time as another strong third period put the Germans on the ropes with the hosts exploding for six goals, including three in a span of four minutes, in the final frame to claim the game 8-2.

With the CHL Playoffs right around the corner, here's a look at who your favourite teams will be lining up against when action resumes in one month’s time!