Belfast 3, Moscow 2 (shootout)
Cody Hodgson and his teammates celebrated in the corner to the left of Moscow goalie Jaroslav Halak as most of the 21,300 Dynamo fans in attendance just stood there in disappointed amazement. Somehow, Moscow didn’t win a game in which they outshot their opponents 51-11. The biggest reason was Giant goalie Cory Schneider, showing that he deserved the votes he got to send him into this weekend’s EURO League all-star game. Schneider made 15 saves in the first period, 15 in the second, and just when you thought he would wilt, 20 more in the third period and overtime. Moscow’s Jannik Hansen and Dave Bolland scored on him to give the home fans a comfortable feeling against the punchless Belfast offense, but in the third period, the Giants were able to surprise Halak with goals by Lars Eller and Rick Nash. In the shootout, Schneider stopped all of Moscow’s shooters, and Hodgson won it on the third and final shot of the standard shootout round.
St. Petersburg 2, Gothenberg 1 (shootout)
Jarom Iginla met his new St. Petersburg teammates in Gothenburg and proceeded to reel off 9 shots on goal while playing on the Lynx’ top line. But he had nothing to show for it personally. Then, as the final shooter in the three-round shootout, Iginla won the game, beating Gothenburg goalie Martin Brodeur. Iginla was with Munich until problems with Dun management led to a contract buyout. A day later, St. Petersburg was the highest bidder for Iginla’s services. Friday’s game was scoreless until the second period, when two seasoned vets put pucks in for their teams. Daniel Alfredsson of St. Petersburg scored his 12th of the season while on the powerplay, but Vincent Lecavalier was able to score his 15th while skating shorthanded during another Lynx powerplay. Petrograd now has 50 points in the standings as the teams head toward the midway point of the season.
Bern 4, Frankfurt 2
Ron Hainsey sparked the Bern Bears in the third period to lift them out of a 2-2 tie with Frankfurt. Hainsey helped set up Mike Cammalleri’s 4th goal of the season and then blasted in his second of the year with 4:22 left. Four Bern players, including Hainsey, had 2-point nights. For the Inferno, sharpshooter Steven Stamkos and defenseman Josh Gorges each had 5 shots on goal to lead all shooters in the game. All-star goalie Mike Smith made 27 saves to earn the win for Bern.
Zurich 6, Munich 5
A four-goal eruption in a three-minute stretch of the second period helped Zurich top Munich in the Swiss team’s barn. Derek Mackenzie started the outburst by scoring his fifth of the season from Chris Thorburn and Blake Comeau, and then the threesome repeated the feat 24 seconds later. Barrett Jackman horned in on Mackenzie’s fun with a goal on the powerplay, but Mackenzie finished off his hat trick 28 seconds after that, with Comeau and Pavel Kubina assisting. Mackenzie played just 7 minutes of the game. For Munich, Brooks Laich was the star, scoring two goals in the first period. It was not all good news for the Lions, as Patrick Sharp went down with an injury and is expected to miss up to two weeks of action.
Oslo 2, Milan 1
Italian fans were treated to a very even contest, but unfortunately for them, their team come up short. Oslo scored twice in the first period, with Tyler Kennedy and Daniel Sedin getting the goals. Milan’s Antoine Vermette made it 2-1 in the second period with his 10th of the season, but that was as close as the Guerriero could get. Ryan Suter blocked 5 shots for Oslo, while Dustin Byfuglien stepped in front of 4 shots for Milan.
Dublin 5, Berlin 3
Dublin’s 3-for-6 powerplay performance was the key to their win in Berlin on Friday. And their penalty killing helped, too, stopping the Smurfs on all four powerplays they were awarded. Dublin went into the second period trailing 3-1 but Bobby Ryan scored two PP goals to tie it at 3-3 after two. Then in the third period, Tomas Fleischmann scored at even strength before Nick Schultz, who had not scored all year, was on the point on the powerplay and able to rifle in his first of the season. Berlin’s Jiri Tlusty also scored his first of the season as both he and teammate Jochen Hecht had a goal and an assist in the first period. Uncharacteristically, Berlin’s David Krejci committed 3 minor penalties in about half a period to hand momentum over to the Fightin’ Irish.
