In the first two games to finish on Thursday, Bili Tygri Liberec edged HC Kosice 3-2 while IFK Helsinki routed Krefeld Pinguine 6-1. SaiPa Lappeenranta and Vitkovice Ostrava went to a shootout, where SaiPa prevailed.
SaiPa Lappeenranta 4-3 Vitkovice Ostrava (SO)
SaiPa Lappeenranta out-shot Vitkovice Ostrava 49-17 over 65 minutes of hockey, but thanks to the goaltending of Daniel Dolejs and 2 goals from Jan Kana, they needed a shootout to win 4-3. Dave Spina had 1 goal and 2 assists for SaiPa, while David McIntyre and Matti Jarvinen had 2 points each.
Bili Tygri Liberec 3-2 HC Kosice
Jaroslav Vlach scored the winning goal as Liberec improved their record to 2-1, beating visiting Kosice 3-2 on home ice. His goal gave the team a 3-1 lead, but Richard Jencik scored a late goal to make it close.
"Kosice was the better team in first period, but we moved around better in second period and great penalty kill helped us a lot," said Liberec assistant coach Milan Cerny. "Unfortunately, we stopped working hard with about seven minutes left and it could have cost us. I think all game long we should have been better defensively and change our playing style in order to do so. (Jan) Lasak helped us in goal a lot tonight."
"I was looking forward to this game for a couple days. They have smaller ice here so the game is faster and I felt good about that," Kosice goalie Marcel Melichercik said about Tipsport Arena in Liberec. "We were ready, but it's too bad we couldn’t take advantage of their weaknesses. We had bad luck at the end of the third period where we got really close to tying the score. We need to become more aggressive."
IFK Helsinki 6-1 Krefeld Pinguine
Mika Partanen scored 2 goals and added 1 assist as IFK Helsinki won their third straight CHL game, 6-1 over Krefeld Pinguine. Teemu Ramstedt and Yohann Auvitu contributed 2 points each to the win, while Martin Schymainski scored the lone Krefeld goal early in the second period.
"We started of with good energy and got the important first goal," said IFK coach Antti Törmänen. "The end of the first period was hard for us, as we started to make problems for ourselves. The second period was very even but Ramstedt’s was crucial for us and we took control of the game. These are very important games and we want to win and proceed. Every game is an opportunity for the players to show their skills and earn their place on the team."