It was a goaltending duel between Jake Hildebrand and Roman Will as Eisbären Berlin bested Dynamo Pardubice with a 3-2 final. Leonhard Pföderl scored the game-winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout to help his team hand Pardubice their first loss of the 2024/25 campaign.

Action got underway with both teams having their legs going early. Berlin created the better of the chances in the beginning and were rewarded for their efforts with a tally from Lean Bergmann eleven minutes in when he turned and fired one in from in close.

Moments later, however, it was Pardubice's turn to light the lamp when the puck found the stick of their leading scorer, Martin Kaut, who stayed with it and capitalised on his third effort, finally putting the puck past Hildebrand to get things even at 1-1.

Then in the second stanza, it was a highlight-reel goal by Frederik Tiffels that gave the lead back to Berlin.

Tiffels found time and space down the left-wing side as he danced around the Pardubice netminder, pulled the puck to his backhand and casually tucked it in for his first of the campaign.

The Czechs picked up the pressure in the closing minutes of the period but were unable to beat Hildebrand a second time as they headed to the locker room still trailing by one.

The final frame saw the Czechs continue to push the pace of the game as they tried to close the goal gap.

Finally, with a little under two minutes to play, it was veteran Roman Červenka notching the equaliser as the Czechs and Germans ended regulation tied at two apiece. Červenka's shot found its way through traffic and handcuffed Hildebrand as the visitors managed to withstand another deficit and force OT.

With neither side able to move the needle in their favour in the extra session, the shootout followed. Here, Pföderl secured his team's second win with a casual wrister that beat Will clean to claim the victory.