European club hockey will have a new champion in 2017/18 because the two-time defending winners - the Frölunda Indians - were stunned on their home ice by Bílí Tygří Liberec, who came from behind repeatedly and finally won in overtime on a power-play goal by Michal Bulíř. Martin Ševc and Martin Bakoš, who both assisted on the winner, had 4 and 3 points in the game, respectively, and goaltender Jaroslav Janus made 40 saves.

Even though they were down just one goal, not many gave Liberec much of a chance against a Frölunda squad that was playing on home ice and riding a 15-game winning streak in the CHL. When Pontus Widerström scored on a shot from the corner that went in off the stick of goalie Jaroslav Janus and in to make it a two-goal difference after six minutes, it seemed that the Indians were on their way.

The Indians took two straight penalties late in the first period and Ševc’s one-time slapper on the power play got Liberec on the board, but Frölunda restored their two-goal cushion midway through the second period on a power-play goal of their own, this one a one-time wrister by Victor Olofsson.

The third period was wild. Ladislav Šmid and Michal Plutnar scored for Liberec in the first half of it to even the aggregate at four goals apiece, and then the two teams traded goals 20 seconds apart in the 51st minute - first Carl Grundstrom taking a pass down low and backhanding the puck past Janus, followed by Lukáš Vantuch backhanding in a rebound to once again even things up.

Once again Frölunda went ahead when Ryan Lasch scored on a goalmouth scramble with 5:19 to play, and that looked like that might finally do it, but the never-say-die Tigers evened it back up again in the last minute on a blast from Bakoš with the teams skating 4-on-4. When Liberec got back to full strength early in overtime, their power play went to work again, cashing in for the second time in the game with Buliř’s high wrister over the shoulder of Johan Mattsson.