Paris 3, Athens 2 – It may be too early in the season to come out with the line “Every goal and save is a big one,” but there is little doubt Paris has come up with three big wins already. After losing by a goal to the Cup champion Belfast Giants, Les Rouges Eiffels have won three “4-point” games against their biggest Southern Conference rivals from last season: Berlin and Athens. They defeated Berlin by a goal and then Athens twice in two days by 2 goals in Athens and by one the next day in France. David Perron scored a goal in each of the three wins. He also assisted on Travis Hamonic’s third-period goal that turned out to be the game-winner on Wednesday against the Greeks. Jason Krog had 3 hits and 3 blocked shots to help backup goalie Philipp Grubauer get the win in his first appearance of the year.
Bratislava 6, Milan 2 – Bratislava will be Paris’ next opponent and that should be a mostly-offense show for fans in Paris on Friday night. The Eagles, who are second in the league in goals per game, got their defensemen into the act against Milan on Wednesday. Blueliners Michael Stone, Tyler Myers and Patrick Wiercoch all scored goals as Bratislava outshot the Guerriero 38-21. Led by Luca Sbisa, Milan seemed intent on body-checking, but that might have gotten them into trouble. They out-hit Bratislava 36-21, but the tactic left a lot of open ice for Eagles skaters. Milan’s Danny Dekeyser and Brian Campbell were -4 on the night.
Madrid 3, Dublin 2 – The Madrid Royals continued their very hot start, beating Dublin by a goal for their 5th win in 6 games. Madrid took a 2-0 lead in the first period, but it was Lee Stempniak’s powerplay goal in the final period that ended up as the game-winner. Madrid only had 2 powerplay chances in the game, but they only gave the Fighting Irish one chance on the PP. Jonas Hiller earned the win in goal for Madrid, stopping 31 of 33 Dublin shots. Madrid is tied for the lead in the Demitra Division, which currently lists four of the league’s top five teams. The Irish suffered a key injury in the game when defenseman Keith Yandle hurt a leg while shoving with Brooks Laich in front of the Dublin net. It is not known how long he will be out of the lineup. South Korean rookie Hyun Min Ahn was called up to replace Yandle.
St. Petersburg 4, Moscow 3 (shootout) – All three St. Petersburg shooters in the shootout were able to score on Moscow goalie Jaro Halak, as the Petrograd crew won the battle between Russian rivals. Defensemen Jeff Petry and Erik Johnson scored goals for St. Petersburg, as did rookie Jan Kovar. It was his 3rd of the year and second in two games. Moscow second-line forwards Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd each had 2 points.
Berlin 4, Lisbon 2 – Backup goalie Erik Ersberg kept the home team off the scoreboard through two periods and his Berlin Smurf teammates emerged on top after a flurry of third-period goals. Smurf Patric Hornqvist scored his first of the season early in the second period, but Lisbon tied it a period later. Then Hornqvist scored again and Tony Martensson gave Berlin a 3-1 lead with 9:17 remaining. Lisbon got a goal from defenseman Jonas Holos, but they couldn’t get the game-tying goal past the 27-year-old Ersberg, who made 30 saves in his first game of the season. Nicklas Hjalmarsson of Berlin sustained a lower body injury, prompting a call-up of Tom Gilbert, who hasn’t played since Season 3 when he was with Prague.
Geneva 4, Oslo 2 – The Outlaws came out firing, getting two first-period goals, including Tomas Hertl’s 5th of the season – but Geneva settled down in the second and third periods, skating away with a relatively comfortable two-goal win on home ice. Sergei Kostitsyn scored his 4th of the season for the Generals and he was one of four Geneva players who ended with a goal and an assist. The others were Rickard Wallin, Mike Fisher and Erik Cole. Cole has scored in each of his last 3 games. Geneva is 3-2-1 and tied with Berlin on top of the Schloder Division.
