In a matchup between two teams that needed a win to get back into the playoff race, the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers did so on home ice, defeating Slovak champions HC Košice 5-2 – the same score by which each of these teams lost on Friday. With the win, the Lakers hold the 16th and final playoff spot at the end of Game Day 4.

Gian-Marco Wetter, who led the Rappwerswil-Jona offence with a goal and an assist, got things going with the only goal of the first period. In the 13th minute, he converted a backdoor pass from Tyler Moy.

The two teams traded goals in the early going of the second period. First, Chase Berger evened the score for Košice, getting free from the Lakers defence and one-timing a centring pass from Patrik Rogoň. But just 37 seconds later, Rapperswil-Jona went back into the lead and it was another backdoor play – this time Jeremy Wick going to the net and converting a pass from Petr Čajka.

Košice then killed off a couple of penalties but the Lakers increased their lead to two goals late in the middle frame. Off the rush, Wetter picked up his second point of the game when he found Victor Rask going to the net, and he fired a shot under the blocker of Jaroslav Janus.

The two teams again exchanged quick goals in the third period. With the Lakers buzzing in the attacking zone, Jordan Schroeder gave his team a 4-1 lead with 12:46 to go when he fired a shot from the slot inside the far post. But Košice replied less than two minutes later on the powerplay when Joona Jääskeläinen one-timed a cross-seam feed from Brett Pollock.

Yannick-Lennart Albrecht sealed it with a long-distance empty-net goal with 2:39 to play.