Berlin 4, Frankfurt 3
R.J. Umberger scored twice and now has 12 goals this season for the Smurfs. His second goal came in a third period that was dominated by Berlin, thanks in part to the fact Frankfurt took four penalties. Berlin outshot their fellow Germans 11-2 in that period and 34-20 during the game. Claude Giroux of Frankfurt also scored twice and he has 6 goals this season. Smurf Matt Carle was named the first star. He had a goal and an assist, was plus 2 , and had 4 hits and 2 blocked shots.
Munich 4, Dublin 3
Munich jumped out to a 3-0 lead and scored 3 of their 4 goals with the man advantage to defeat the Fighting Irish. Milan Hejduk and Patrik Elias each scored his 9th goal of the season and Steve Downie notched his first for the Duns, all on the powerplay. Those tallies followed a 5-on-5 goal by Niclas Hagman. Dublin’s goal scorers were Ryan Kesler (11th), Tomas Plekanec (4th) and newly acquired Jaroslav Spacek (1st). Spacek also had 3 blocked shots and 3 hits and was named the game’s first star. With their wins, Munich and the Smurfs are tied for third place in the Southern Conference.
Belfast 5, Stockholm 4
The Stockholm Spartans and their fans have to be shaking their heads in disbelief after what happened in Sweden Friday. The home team outshot visiting Belfast 47-18, were perfect on 3 penalty kills, managed 2 powerplay goals and still lost 5-4. When Stockholm forward Miko Koivu wired one in on the powerplay in the third period, it brought the Spartans to within one goal and they seemed primed to press for the game-tying goal. But Gabriel Bourque scored his 5th of the season for Belfast to reopen a 2-goal gap. Stockholm scored right away on a Dan Cleary shot, but the Giants held firm in the final 9-plus minutes to leave with the win. Sidney Crosby and Cody Hodson each scored his 3rd of the season for the Giants, with teammates Brendan Mikkelson and Marco Sturm each scoring his first of the season. Corey Schneider was awesome in goal, making 43 saves for Belfast. Eric Staal was probably the most frustrated Spartan. He took 12 shots on goal, but didn’t earn a point and was minus 3.
Gothenberg 5, Geneva 4 (overtime)
Geneva fought back to tie the game and send it into overtime, but Vincent Lecavalier scored his second of the game and 8th of the season to end it. Statistically, the game was about as even as it could get. Geneva’s best performances were turned in by Brad Stuart (2 goals) and the line of Teemu Selanne, Nick Foligno and Mike Fisher (all plus 2). For Gothenberg, Stephane Robidas blocked 4 shots, Dan Girardi blasted opponents for 7 hits, and three players in addition to Lecavalier – Jordan Eberle, Adam Henrique and John Carlson – had 2 points each.
Edinburgh 3, Milan 1
The Capitals were outshot on home ice but got a good performance out of Henrik Lundqvist to earn the victory. The two teams traded first period goals when Lauri Korpikoski of Edinburgh and Milan’s Steve Ott got their teams on the scoreboard. But Edinburgh was able to score once in each of the next two periods, Wayne Simmonds getting his 4th of the season in the second period and Andy Greene scoring his 3rd in the third. Korpikoski and Simmonds each assisted on the other’s goal and linemate Clarke MacArthur earned assists on both goals.
Oslo 6, Paris 1
Paris took it on the chin again, this time from Oslo in Norway. Mikhail Grabovsky had two goals for the Devils, while teammates Mark Giordano and Kyle Quincey were plus 3. Quincey and Kris Russell, both Oslo defensemen, each scored his first goal of the season. Alex Pieterangelo, a defenseman for Paris, scored in the first period to make it a 2-1 game, but that’s all the Paris fun Lundqvist allowed Friday. The referees did a lot of whistle blowing in this one, as Paris had 10 powerplays and Oslo had 8. Each team scored one powerplay goal. Oslo (11-6) is now the second-best team in the Ahearne Division and the Northern Conference, trailing Copenhagen by just 2 points.
