The conference finals matchups are set after two tense series ended with Game 7 wins for the road teams. Both Moscow and Lisbon entered the playoffs as 6th seeds. Moscow upset the defending champion Hussars in seven games. Minsk won the first two games of the series in convincing fashion before Moscow evened the series…
Two teams are through to the conference finals in their respective conferences, while the four remaining teams are locked in 2-2 series. Belfast eliminated Copenhagen in short order, allowing just three Trident goals in the four games. Just about the whole Belfast gang contributed to the series win. The line of Ondrej Palat, Nathan MacKinnon…
With each series a game in, three favored teams jumped out to good starts with convincing wins. Belfast 3, Copenhagen 0 – The Giants looked huge, outshooting the Tridents 42-21 and 17-5 in the final period. Ondrej Palat and P.K. Subban started Copenhagen’s pain by scoring first-period goals, with Palat adding another in the third…
Milan 2, Berlin 1 – The Guerriero pulled off a shocker in knocking the second-seeded Berlin Smurfs out of the playoffs on Saturday. Andrew “Il Hamburgerscassinatore” Hammond played a major part in the success story, making 33 saves in three separate wins in the series, including Saturday’s. The only goal he allowed in the contest was a…
Lisbon 6, Madrid 3 – A furious rally in the third period allowed Lisbon to get over a giant playoff hurdle and at the same time, they assured that the rivalry between the EURO League’s Portuguese and Spanish teams will remain spicy hot. The Royals, fighting for their playoff lives against the sixth seed in the…
Moscow 3, Helsinki 1 – The sixth seed in the Northern Conference has advanced to the second round of the playoffs as Moscow conquered Helsinki Wednesday. Both goalies were good, but Alexander Salak of the Dynamo was better, stopping 34 of 35 Helsinki shots in a game that saw 13 powerplay situations. Moscow opened the…
Madrid 3, Lisbon 1 – Madrid Royals and their coach Dan Bylsma collectively and sternly said “Not so fast” on Tuesday. Trailing 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs, the Royals kept Lisbon from closing it out. Now they have to repeat the feat two more times. Shea Weber sparked the home crowd and…
Moscow 2, Helsinki 1 – Ryan O’Reilly was all business when Game 5 started in Helsinki and he propelled Moscow Dynamo to a one-goal win that gave the team a 3-2 lead in the series. The Jokerit really poured it on in the final period, outshooting Moscow 12-5, but goalie Alexander Salak was good enough…
Milan 5, Berlin 2 – The Guerriero evened the series with a home win, getting a big goal in the third period from Marcus Kruger and then an insurance goal from young Matthew Tkachuk. The game was marred by a fan incident midway through the second period. Milan was on top 2-0 after goals by…
Southern Conference Berlin leads Milan 2-1 – The home team has won each of the first three games. The middle game was close, going to overtime with Berlin winning on a key goal by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Game 1 (Berlin 4, Milan 0) – Eighteen minor penalties in the first game of the series gave…
