All 24 teams have now played two games after four days of action. Everybody will play their third and fourth games next Thursday through Sunday.
After Saturday’s games, Finnish club Ilves Tampere was the only team to have a perfect record with two regulation wins, but three more teams joined them on Sunday – Frölunda Gothenburg, Kometa Brno and Red Bull Salzburg.
The day featured some fine performances from some ex-NHLers and a couple of prospects.
Frölunda Gothenburg (SWE) 5 – Lausanne HC (SUI) 2
In a game where all seven goals were scored in the same net – Frölunda led 2-0 after one period, the game was tied 2-2 after two, but Frölunda pulled away with three more in the third. Jacob Pettersson scored twice for Frölunda, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Max Westergård had two assists, and ex-NHL defenseman Erik Brännström had a goal and an assist for Lausanne.
Lukko Rauma (FIN) 3 – Bolzano Foxes (ITA) 4
Halfway through this game, Lukko led 2-0 and Bolzano had only four shots on goal. However, the Italian-based ICEHL club stormed back to win 4-3 – the winner on a power-play deflection by Matthew James Bradley with just 21 seconds remaining in regulation time.
Mountfield Hradec Králové (CZE) 0 – Brynäs Gävle (SWE) 5
After a disappointing opener in Brno, Brynäs came to play in its second game in Czechia and scored twice in the first eight minutes and were never seriously threatened afterward. A pair of Anaheim Ducks prospects had big games – Damian Clara made 27 saves for the shutout and Lucas Pettersson opened the scoring. Oskar Lindblom also scored.
Kometa Brno (CZE) 5 – Odense Bulldogs (DEN) 2
After an impressive opening-night win against a strong squad, Kometa had trouble with the Danish champs, leading only 3-2 halfway through the third period before pulling away. Šimon Stránský had three points for Kometa, which is one of only four teams to have two regulation wins.
ZSC Lions Zurich (SUI) 4 – GKS Tychy (POL) 0
After losing their first game in overtime, the defending Swiss and CHL champs bounced back with a convincing win, outshooting the Polish champs 46-20. Justin Sigrist had three points, last year’s CHL MVP Sven Andrighetto had two and Šimon Hrubec earned the shutout.
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) 3 – Pinguins Bremerhaven (GER) 2
In a tight game that featured two penalty shots – Bremerhaven and Salzburg didn’t – Lucas Thaler’s power-play goal with 11:08 broke the 2-2 tie and was the difference. Veteran Slovene Žiga Jeglič had a penalty-shot goal and an assist for Bremerhaven.
