It was a raucous atmosphere in Poland as GKS Tychy faced off against Adler Mannheim in a crucial Group F game. The teams traded early powerplay chances, Christian Mroczkowski going the closest for the home side, but to the delight of the loud home support, it would be Tychy who got the game’s first goal with the man advantage. Forward Alex Szczechura, who scored 9 points in 6 games last season, cut in from the left faceoff circle and fired a wristshot past Dennis Endras. Tempers flared at the end of the period as Tim Stützle was hit hard in the neutral zone, but the young superstar returned to the action.

The second period was a scrappy affair with both teams struggling to generate any real scoring chances. John Murray was excellent in the home team net, making all the stops he needed to until the 36th minute, when the game truly sprung to life. The home side couldn’t deal with a rebound from another Murray save, and eventually the puck was centred to Phil Hungerecker who was left all alone in the slot, who eventually tied the score. This seemed to take the wind out of Tychy’s sails, as Mannheim would take the lead less than two minutes later, as Mannheim’s golden boy Stützle recovered from his earlier hit to fire a one-timer past Murray. However, with Hungerecker in the box, Tychy broke down the right wing and a fantastic pass from Aliaksei Yafimenka found Michael Szmatula who wired a shot past Endras.

The pressure mounted in the third period as an early Gleb Klimenko penalty gave Adler an early powerplay chance, but despite firing at will, Murray stood tall once again and kept the away side out. Tychy had their chance with 8 minutes to go, with a brief 5-on-3 powerplay, but once again, they struggled to generate good scoring chances. Then, with 7 minutes to go, Bartłomiej Pociecha took a double minor penalty for a late hit, giving the hosts their chance to get the game-winning goal, but Murray was equal to everything, his best save coming as he flashed his glove to deny an Adler one-timer from the point.

The teams were level after 60 minutes, and headed into the extra frame. A defensive breakdown left Matthias Plachta with all the time in the world to make a slick move on Murray to backhand the overtime winner home and give Adler Mannhem 5 points from their road trip.