The Straubing Tigers found their bite on Sunday afternoon. In the first pre-semifinal matchup of the 96th Spengler Cup, they defeated the favourite Dynamo Pardubice 4-2 thanks to three goals in the third period. After this upset victory, the Germans will face Team Canada in tomorrow’s semifinal at 3.10pm.

After the offensive outpouring in the preliminary round, the knockout stage of the Spengler Cup started as usual with a bit more caution. In the opening period, Pardubice took control of the game (11-4 shots on net). But it was the Straubing Tigers that took the lead.  Captain Mike Connolly scored with a precise shot on a shorthanded counterattack. Straubing’s keeper Zane McIntyre was often the centre of attention. But he had no chance when Daniel Rakis made it 1-1 with a precise wrist shot. To start the second period, the forechecking by Pardubice’s top line induced  the mistake that lead to the 2-1. After a turnover by the Tigers, Lukas Sedlak found the scorer Milos Kelemen with a lightning-fast pass. But the Germans’ spirit remained unbroken despite giving up a goal. They remained mostly on defense. With a big save, Dynamo goaltender Roman Will denied Tim Fleischer the equalizer on a quick counterattack. On the opposite side, McIntyre’s many saves kept his team within reach after 40 minutes of play. The Czechs had already registered 30 shots on his net up to that point.

In the third period, the Germans unexpectedly hit the throttle. Aside from their well-known spirit, they showed exceptional strength and finesse in their third game within 45 hours. Even a cancelled goal by Justin Scott due to goaltender interference did not break the Tigers’ morale. And their NHL legend Justin Braun scored on a well-placed shot from afar to make it 2-2 in the 48th minute. Philip Samuelsson took advantage of a powerplay to put his team up 218 seconds before the end of regulation. And then Joshua Samanski sealed the Czech defeat with another goal within the same minute of play. 
 

Text: Spengler Cup Onlineredaktion   Foto: Keystone