Kölner Haie grabbed a 2-0 lead, lost it during Tappara's three-goal second period, and still came away with a 5-4 overtime win in the Champions Hockey League. Marcel Noebels tied the game late in the second and put Köln back in front in the third before Tappara forced OT; the visitors settled it in the extra session.
Patrick Russell's first-period goals at 6:00 and 19:00 gave Köln the early cushion. Tappara replied with three straight in the second — Joachim Blichfeld at 22:00, Benjamin Rautiainen at 32:00, and William Wia at 34:00 — but Noebels' marker at 39:00 made it 3-3 after 40. Noebels scored again at 44:00, Vilho Vanhatalo answered for Tappara at 50:00, and the score stayed 4-4 until the overtime winner.
Noebels finished with two goals and an assist, factoring into three of Köln's five goals, while Russell added two tallies of his own. The teams combined for eight regulation goals, and neither could break a 4-4 deadlock until the deciding overtime sequence.
