In a tight Group A race where every point between the top three teams matters, Sparta Prague defeated Pinguins Bremerhaven 5-2 to overtake two teams and climb into first place. The team from Germany was accompanied by a large and vocal band of travelling fans, who had moments to cheer but ultimately went home disappointed.

Each team scored twice in a relatively even first period, with three of the goals coming in a frenetic span of 2:12. Zdeněk Doležal opened the scoring for Sparta in the 12th minute on a breakaway, with the referee’s arm in the air for what surely would have been a penalty shot. Just 31 seconds later it was tied, as Bremerhaven’s Niklas Mose Andersen split the defence and then beat goaltender Alexander Salák. And just 101 seconds after that, Sparta captain Michal Řepík found David Kaše down low, and he beat Maximilian Franzreb with a wrister just inside the far post.

Sparta kept pressing and in the last two minutes, Adam Polášek very nearly added to the lead as his shot got in behind Franzreb but was cleared away just in time. And then, with just 1:05 to go, it was tied when Nino Kinder swept home a loose puck during a scramble around the net.

In the second period Sparta had four straight powerplays – including a 5-on-3 for nine seconds and a double-minor for high-sticking to Jan Urbas – but a combination of Franzreb’s goaltending and solid penalty-killing kept the score tied. On their 34th shot on goal, Sparta finally regained the lead as Patrik Prymula got open in the slot and ripped home a wrister with just 23.6 seconds remaining.

In the first minute of the third period, Sparta finally got some breathing room when Michal Moravčík followed up Řepík‘s initial shot and buried the rebound. Less than three minutes later, Ondřej Mikliš made it 5-2, and the home fans, somewhat nervous for most of the night, could finally start to relax.