- GKS Tychy earn first Polish points and win in the CHL
- Bolzano can still qualify but must win in regulation to guarantee their plac
- Michael Cychy scores incredible goal
After 14 previous attempts over the past three seasons, Poland got their first ever CHL points as GKS Tychy defeated HC Bolzano on a famous night for the home side.
The hosts, as they did against IFK Helsinki in their first Champions Hockey League encounter, got ahead early on. This time it was Andrei Mikhnov, as GKS went through 2-on-0 while shorthanded to take the lead with 6:16 gone! Anton Bernard levelled for the visitors some eight minutes later, but the best goal of the night - and arguably Tychy's season so far - helped the home side re-gain the lead. Finding the puck out infront and unmarked, Michael Cychy pulled a sensational move to score backhanded through the legs and make it 2-1 at 17:45.
However, Bolzano struck back just 18 seconds later through Marco Insam to again tie things up.
A defensive howler from the Italian side had Tychy again back in the lead as Gleb Klimenko had a gaping goal to aim at and put the home side 3-2 up with 21:45 gone. However, for the third time, Bolzano pulled it back - this time with 1:39 left on the period, a bad turnover allowing Andrew Crescenzi in to finish with a smart wrist shot.
An exceptionally tight third period eventually saw the deadlock broken late on. With a man advantage, GKS' Michael Cichy added his second of the game as he had time to find the perfect shot and make it 4-3 with 6:17 to go. With six skaters and the goalie pulled, Bolzano pushed for the equaliser but Tychy added the insurance marker to celebrate a famous win for both them and Polish hockey!
The win means Poland finally have points - and three of them - in the CHL! It also means IFK Helsinki stay alive in this year's competition, while Bolzano must get at least match IFK's result next week to qualify.