Kontinental Hockey League (Russia)
Atlant Mytischi 3, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl 2 (OT): After allowing six goals in Game 1, Lokomotiv decided to make a goaltending change for Game 2, starting Alexander Vyukhin instead of Dmitrij Kotschnew. Vyukhin, acquired from Novokuznetsk mid-season, plays an entertaining, unothordox style that you'll notice in the clip below. He made several early saves, but Jan Bulis managed to open the scoring for Mytischi, before goals by Alexander Galimov and former NHLer Alexander Korolyuk gve Yaroslavl the lead. Igor Musatov tied it up late in the second period, and the game went to overtime after a scoreless third, when Musatov struck again to give the road team another win. Pavol Demitra thought he had won the game late in the third for Yaroslavl, but a late save by Konstantin Barulin on the goal line made the difference. The series resumes on Sunday. Atlant leads series 2-0.
Saturday's Game: Metallurg Magnitogorsk @ Salavat Yulaev Ufa (1:00 PM CET/8:00 AM EST), Ufa leads series 1-0.
SM-Liiga (Finland)
Ässät 2, Blues 0: Joel Armia scored for the second straight game, while Eero Kilpeläinen made 34 saves as Pori won their first game at home in this series to force a 6th game. Ville Uusitalo opened the scoring for Ässät, who are trying to come back from a 0-3 deficit. Espoo leads series 3-2.
Jokerit 3, HIFK 1: Jokerit captain Ossi Väänänen had a goal and an assist to lead his team to another road victory, although in the battle of Helsinki, road and home lines are pretty blurred. Jukka Hentunen and Janne Lahti also scored for Jokerit, while Mikael Granlund got his first goal of the series for HIFK. Jokerit leads series 3-2.
Lukko 5, KalPa 0: Lukko got to KalPa goalie Ari Ahonen early, chasing him after the team fell behind 3-0 after one period on a pair of goals from Teemu Nurmi and one form Jakub Petruzalek. Mika Noronen made 21 saves for the shutout, as Lukko has now won three straight to take the series lead after falling behind 0-2. Lukko leads series 3-2.
Saturday's Games: Ässät @ Blues; HIFK @ Jokerit; Lukko @ KalPa. All games at 5:30 PM CET/12:30 PM EST. Liigakarstina: Lahti Pelicans @ Vaasan Sport (Pelicans leads series 3-0; 5:30 PM CET/12:30 PM EST).
Tipsport Extraliga (Czech Rep.)
HC Slavia Praha 4, HC Ocelari Trinec 3 (OT): Vladimir Roth opened the scoring, and closed the scoring as well, scoring his second goal of the game at 1:49 of the overtime. Martin Rucizka scored twice and got an assist for Trinec in the losing cause, as the plucky Prague team keeps finding ways to win games against the top teams. Prague leads series 2-1.
Saturday's Game: HC Ocelari Trinec @ HC Slavia Praha (5:40 PM CET/12:40 PM EST).
Deutsche Eishockey Liga (Germany)
Eisbären Berlin 4, ERC Ingolstadt 3: Danish forward Mads Christensen scored twice as Berlin hung on to get the first road win of the Best of 5 series, putting them on the cusp of reaching the semifinals. Christoph Gawlick and Thomas Greilinger each had a goal and an assist each in the loss for Ingolstadt. Berlin leads series 2-0.
DEG Metro Stars 3, Adler Mannheim 2: Rob Collins had a goal and an assist and Jean-Sebastien Aubin made 36 saves as the Dusseldorf based Metro Stars evened the series. Andrew Roach and Adam Courchaine also scored for the Metro Stars. Series tied at 1.
Hannover Scorpions 5, Krefeld Pinguine 3: Hannover stormed back in this one, down 2-1 after two periods and down again 3-2 in the third period, the Scorpions scored four times in the final frame to even the series. Martin Hlinka was the big star, scoring twice and adding two assists. Series tied at 1.
Grizzly Adams Wolfsburg 5, Kölner Haie 1: Ken Magowan led Wolfsburg offensively with a goal and two assists, as five different goal scorers paced the team to a relatively comfortable road win. Wolfsburg can wrap up the series at home on Sunday. Wolfsburg leads series 2-0.
Kvalserien to Elitserien (Sweden)
Växjö Lakers 3, Södertälje 2 (SO): Matthias Monsson tied it in the final minute for Södertälje, but Växjö continues their pursuit of first place and promotion by winning in the shootout on the road. Steve Saviano scored twice, while Monsson also scored twice in response. This game featured the top two teams to date, and Växjö definitely looks for real at this point.
Rögle 2, MODO 1 (SO): Things are looking tough for MODO, as they could only get a shootout loss against the relatively weaker Rögle team. MODO did outshoot Rögle 45-26, but only Niklas Sundstrom on a first period power play beat Jonas Fransson. Simon Olsson scored Rögle's goal in regulation.
Mora 6, Örebrö 3: Mora finally has a win, as Alexander Hilmerson scored twice in this battle of two Allsvenskan teams. Both these teams probably need to win out in the second half of this round robin to have a hope at promotion.
Kvalserien Standings, 5 of 10 rounds completed: 1. Växjö (3-1-1-0); 2. Södertälje (2-2-1-0); 3. MODO (2-1-2-0); 4. (1-1-1-2); 5. Mora (1-0-0-4); 6. Örebrö (0-0-2-3).
Saturday's Elitserien Games: AIK @ Färjestad (2:40 PM CET/9:40 PM EST, Färjestad leads series 2-0); Luleå @ Skellefteå (2:50 PM CET/9:50 PM EST, Luleå leads series 2-0).
Slovnaft Extraliga (Slovakia)
Saturday's Game: HC 05 Banská Bystrica @ HK Poprad (6:00 PM CET/1:00 PM EST). Series tied 3-3.
The winner of this game moves on to play the powerhouse known as HC Kosice in the finals.
National League A (Switzerland)
Saturday's Games: Kloten Flyers @ SC Bern (8:15 PM CET/3:15 PM EST, Kloten leads series 3-2); Rapperswil Lakers @ Ambri-Piotta (8:15 PM CET/3:15 PM EST, Lakers lead play-out series 3-2).
I'll have a full junior hockey wrap up later in the morning.
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