Belfast 3, Helsinki 1 Whoa. What has gotten into Belfast? After starting the season 2-13, the Giants have reeled off 5 straights wins, their latest victim being goalie Steve Mason and the Helsinki Jokerit. The easy answer for the Giants’ turnaround would be Rick Nash and a healthy Sidney Crosby. But the two superstars haven’t…

Athens 1, Geneva 0 It’s a good thing David Backes scored in the third period for Athens or this game would still be going on. The lone goal came as a result of hard work. The Greeks were able to clog the area in front of Generals goalie Curtis Sanford and Backes was able to…

Oslo 4, Gothenberg 3 Gothenberg fought back to tie the game with 5:28 left on a Daniel Girardi powerplay goal, but Alex Burrows of Oslo dashed Gothenberg hopes with a shorthanded goal with just over a minute left. Oslo was very liberal with hockey rules, giving Gothenberg 11 powerplays, including 3 after Girardi’s goal with…

Stockholm 4, Paris 2 The first step new ownership took in Stockholm was out of the basement. Coming into Sunday’s game against Paris, the Spartans were in last place and the original owner bolted from Sweden. Stockholm fans didn’t have to wait long as Soberboy stepped in and agreed to take over. His team responded…

Bratislava, 3, Munich 2 (overtime) Tyler Ennis scored a wrap-around goal in overtime to keep Bratislava tied for first overall. The Eagles are one of two teams who have not suffered a regulation time loss at home this year. Bratislava is 9-0-1 at home while Munich is 7-0-3. Tim Connolly continues to impress. Connolly was…

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.…

Bern 4, St. Petersburg 2 The Bern Bears trailed 2-1 throughout the second period and into the third, but fought back to emerge with another win. The big third period goals were scored by Brent Seabrook, Ray Whitney (on the powerplay) and Radim Vrbata. Bern defenseman Dennis Seidenberg scored a first period shorthanded goal and…

Belfast 2, Dublin 1 Carrying a 9-game losing streak into Dublin, the Belfast Giants barely defeated their Irish neighbors. Sidney Crosby returned to the Belfast lineup and he caught the Fighting Irish off guard on the first shift of the game by drawing their attention and firing a pass into the slot where Chris Campoli…

Copenhagen 3, Prague 2 (shootout) It’s like the movie “Groundhog Day.” For the third time in four games, Copenhagen, on home ice, has gone into a shootout situation with the score tied at 2-2. And in each one of those situations, Dany Heatley has scored, Andrew Ladd has missed and Alex Goligoski has scored the…