Three favored teams off to good starts in second round

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 win leaves Calzone taste in Smurfs’ mouth

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 conquers Madrid; two Game 7s upcoming

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…

Belfast, Moscow advance to Round 2

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 battles to stay alive; Bratislava advances

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…

O’Reilly goals lift Moscow; Gothenburg ousted

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…

Italian fans mix emotions in big Milan win

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…

Lisbon seems to have Madrid on the ropes

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…