Entering Group A’s final slate of games both teams knew that Sparta Prague needed one point to advance, Pinguins Bremerhaven needed two, and both teams would advance if the Växjö Lakers lost again to TPS Turku. However, early returns from that game, which started almost an hour earlier, made it more and more apparent that if either of these teams were going to advance, they would have to earn it on the ice in Bremerhaven. Sparta did, but it wasn’t so easy.

With an energetic home crowd behind them, Bremerhaven came out pressing hard for an early goal but, as the minutes wore on, Sparta became the more active of the two teams.

After a scoreless first period, Sparta opened the scoring just under five minutes into the second. Taking advantage of a falling Bremerhaven defenceman at the point, Zdeněk Doležal picked up the puck and carried it the length of the ice. Maximilian Franzreb kicked out his shot, but the rebound went right to Michal Moravčík, who picked up where he left off after last week’s three-point game and scored.

Sparta’s situation became a lot more comfortable in the second minute of the third period when Filip Chlapík took a long pass in full flight from the red-hot Moravčík, and then fired a shot that beat Franzreb inside the far post.

Down by two goals but with still almost 18 minutes to go, the home fans began to really urge on the Pinguins and they started to respond. They got some chances on a powerplay and gained some momentum although they didn’t score. With just over 10 minutes to go, Mitchell Wahl capitalized on a weak Sparta clearing attempt in the slot and finally found the back of the net, cutting the deficit in half.

Bremerhaven kept pressing and very nearly tied it with just under three minutes left when a shot from the point hit a body in front and slid just wide of the post, with a screened Jakub Neužil not moving. They kept pressing, but finally a miscue at the point gave Patrik Prymula a chance to grab the puck and fire it the length of the ice for an empty-net goal with 1:06 to play.