Pinguins Bremerhaven and Sparta Prague renew acquaintances on the North Sea coast on Game Day 6 with plenty on the line. Heading into the final Group A game for both teams, both can still qualify for a spot in the Round of 16 but neither have secured it. Sparta lead with 10 points followed by Bremerhaven with nine, while hot on both of their trails are the Växjö Lakers with seven. Växjö play host to TPS Turku at the same time and must win and get a favourable result from Bremerhaven-Sparta. For Sparta, one point will be enough to secure advancement while Bremerhaven need two, and therefore a Bremerhaven win in extra time would see both teams through regardless of what happens in Växjö.

Last Wednesday in the Czech capital, Sparta won 5-2 thanks to a three-point, +4 game from defenceman Michal Moravčík. Overall, captain Michal Řepík leads the team with five points in the CHL, while Swedish forward Erik Thorell continues to lead them in the Extraliga with 15 points in 11 games. In goal, Alexander Salák continues to be the main man in both competitions, and his goals-against average in the CHL is a sparkling 1.73.

Maximilian Franzreb played in goal for Bremerhaven last week and stopped 38 of 43 shots, but mostly it’s been Brandon Maxwell in net, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do this week. Ross Mauermann, Jan Urbas and Miha Verlić all have three points for Bremerhaven in the CHL, while Slovene Ziga Jeglic has eight points in ten DEL games.

Since their last meeting, Sparta have taken five of six possible points domestically – 3-2 in a shootout in Liberec and 8-4 at home over Karlovy Vary on Sunday – and sit fifth in the 14-team Extraliga with 22 points in 11 games. Bremerhaven also played twice in the intervening week and took four of six points, losing 2-1 in a shootout at Iserlohn and then winning 4-3 at home over Wolfsburg. They sit ninth in the 14-team DEL with 14 points in 10 games.