Pominville, linemates in top form for Athens

Munich evened up its season with Bratislava and three other series in the Southern Conference turned into 2-0 leads on Saturday. The biggest statement of the day was made in Athens, where the Greeks’ top line of Jason Pominville, Scott Hartnell and David Backes were a wrecking crew. Each member of the line had five shots…

Close games knot three series at 1-1

It was an eventful Friday night in Europe. That screaming you heard was Minsk fans when Nicklas Backstrom went down with a severe injury that will keep him out of the first round of the playoffs. And what sounded like an echo from the east was actually Moscow fans screaming when Anze Kopitar was hurt…

Eagles start with road win; Madrid stopped

Game 1 highlights and what to look for on Saturday Outfoxed themselves – Munich started backup goalie Robert Kristan to open the series against Bratislava and while the young Slovenian didn’t perform poorly, his teammates did. It could be that when they were told Kristan was starting, the message they got was that this was going…

Game 1 highlights; Silfverberg stars for Dublin

A quick report on what happened in Game 1 and what to look for in Game 2 Silfverberg strikes gold – Dublin and St. Petersburg got involved in a real track meet, with the Fighting Irish outshooting the Red Stars 42-34 and outscoring them by one. Jakub Silfverberg scored two powerplay goals, including the one…

Playoff predictions

Rose in Accounting and I were talking in the office the other day. I listened to her boring story about her niece’s wedding plans and then she didn’t seem to listen to my story about my son’s graduation. Then the topic of the upcoming playoffs came up and we seemed to have pretty divergent views.…

What’s at stake in waning days

The Season 3 playoff matchups are almost set in stone, but not quite. Four games left on the schedule could affect first-round matchups. On Friday, Gothenburg will host Moscow  and Geneva will host Bern for the back end of their home-and-home series. If Bern wins, they will play Berlin in the first round; if they…

Photo finishes for last playoff spots

With just a handful of regular season games remaining in the third season of EURO League, a torrid playoff race in the Northern Conference is overshadowing some other good stories. Here’s what you have to squint to see in the glare of the four-team race for the North’s final playoff spot: SPAIN GAINS – The…

Germans jump up while the Swiss slide

When the EURO League started less than three seasons ago, it was two Swiss teams that broke out of the gate fastest. This season, however, all their German neighbors have passed them in the Schloder Division standings. The changing of the guard was part of the plan really. Bern and Geneva were drafted to win…