Editor’s note: I’ll attempt to get back into writing about our league, although I can’t promise much regularity. This will help me get my life back to normal, if that’s what one could call what I had going. This is a look around the league as most teams are 31 games into the season. Teams…

Athens 4, Berlin 3 – Bobby Butler scored the winning goal for Athens with 3:36 to play and from then on, goalie Jaroslav Halak kept the Smurfs from tying the game. But the real damage to the Smurfs came from their old buddies. Alexander Edler, a Gods defenseman who was traded from Berlin after six…

Minsk 3, Bratislava 2 – The Minsk Hussars stopped Bratislava’s run and regained first place overall, but it wasn’t easy. After Minsk scored twice in the first period, the Eagles clawed back to tie the game in the third. Nicklas Backstrom scored the Hussars’ second powerplay goal with 6:39 remaining and backup goalie Anton Khudobin…

Prague 4, Lisbon 3 (OT) – Young goalie Andrey Vasilevskiy bounced back from a dismal day on Monday with a wonderful one on Tuesday, earning his Prague Sparta team two points in Lisbon. The loss was only the second regulation-time home loss this season for Lisbon HC. The only team without a regulation-time home loss so…

Bratislava 3, Bern 1 – The Bratislava Eagles have surprised even themselves by taking over first place overall in the EURO following their ninth consecutive win. The streak didn’t include many pushovers, as Bratislava skated past some top teams in Lisbon (twice), Belfast, Paris and Berlin. On Wednesday, they will have the toughest of tests:…

Helsinki 4, Minsk 3 – With the score tied 3-3 and 11 minutes to go against the defending Cup champs, the Helsinki Jokerit turned up the aggressiveness meter in an attempt to give the home fans a win. But they overdid it, taking three penalties in a row, the last two overlapping and giving Minsk…

Edinburgh 5, Helsinki 2– The Capitals gave up a 2-0 lead and saw Helsinki tie the game, but they then scored three times in the final 10 minutes to win it. Luka Gracnar of Edinburgh saved 28 of 30 shots and Rickard Wallin scored a pair of goals. After a very slow start to the…

St. Petersburg 6, Helsinki 4 – Both teams committed 8 penalties, but the Krasnyye Zvezdy did better with their special teams and that was the difference in the game. Helsinki led 4-2 early in the second period and it looked like St. Petersburg was on their way to a 10th straight loss, but they were…

Smurf forward Ryan Callahan and Stockholm defenseman Zach Bogosian, both natives of New York state, had a little disagreement on Saturday as the teams were battling in the third period of their game in Sweden. The two pushed each other in front of the Eagle net after Brayden Holtby covered the puck to get a…

Minsk 5, Edinburgh 2 – Nicklas Backstrom scored twice and defenseman Maxim Chudinov added three assists in another convincing Minsk win. The Hussars outshot the Capitals 43-23. Backstrom seemed to overwhelm Sidney Crosby in the game. Likewise for their lines. Edinburgh’s top three seemed to be on the defensive most of the night, although Crosby and…