Adler Mannheim beat GKS Tychy 5:4 in shootout as Polish club exits Champions League
Adler Mannheim secured a 5:4 shootout victory over GKS Tychy on Wednesday, handing the Polish champions their fifth straight Champions Hockey League defeat despite Tychy earning their first tournament point.
Opening exchange in Mannheim
Adler Mannheim hosted Polish champions GKS Tychy on 7 October 2026 in the fifth round of the Champions Hockey League regular season. The German runners-up entered the contest in fourth place with three wins from four games, while Tychy had lost all four opening fixtures. Playing without injured forwards Filip Komorski and Rafał Drabik, the visitors faced early pressure before an audience of 4,073 spectators. Mannheim opened the scoring at 6:00 when Brooks Macek converted on a power play following assists from Marc Michaelis and Leon Gawanke. Ninety seconds later, Tom Kühnhackl doubled the home advantage after setups by Lennard Nieleck and Daniel Renouf. Tychy responded at 13:45 when Bartłomiej Jeziorski finished a counter-attack orchestrated by Finnish defensemen Valtteri Kakkonen and Olli Kaskinen.
Second-period parity and penalty exchanges
The visitors wiped out the deficit early in the second period through newly signed Finnish winger Leevi Viitala. Viitala scored from close range at 22:26 on his debut following an assist by Mateusz Gościński. Mannheim regained the lead at 25:48 during another numerical advantage after Kakkonen went to the penalty box. Luke Esposito converted the chance with assists credited to Matthias Plachta and John Gilmour. The team coached by Pekka Tirkkonen responded three minutes later when Alan Łyszczarczyk fired a shot from the blue line past Mannheim's screened goaltender at 28:59 on a power play. Dominik Paś and Kakkonen provided the assists on the tying goal, leaving the score at 3:3 entering the final intermission.
- Brooks Macek scores on a power play for Mannheim
- Tom Kühnhackl extends Mannheim's lead to 2:0
- Bartłomiej Jeziorski scores opening goal for Tychy
- Leevi Viitala equalizes at 2:2 on his debut
- Luke Esposito restores Mannheim lead on power play
- Alan Łyszczarczyk ties the game at 3:3 on power play
- Nicolas Mattinen gives Mannheim a 4:3 lead
- Mateusz Bryk levels the score at 4:4
- Nicolas Mattinen scores decisive penalty for Mannheim
Late equalizer and shootout resolution
Mannheim pushed ahead for the third time at 52:32 of the final period. Defenseman Nicolas Mattinen scored from distance through traffic, beating screened goaltender Tomas Fucik after an assist by Plachta. Tychy erased the deficit two minutes later when defenseman Mateusz Bryk scored with a powerful long-range shot at 54:58 following a pass from Jeziorski. The teams stayed tied at 4:4 through regulation and a scoreless three-on-three overtime period, where Tychy successfully killed a penalty assessed to Aleksi Ainali. In the penalty shootout, Łyszczarczyk scored Tychy's only goal from five attempts, while Esposito and Mattinen converted for Mannheim. Mattinen's final shot secured the 5:4 victory for the German side, while Tychy collected one point for the overtime tie.
- Adler Mannheim
- 4 min
- GKS Tychy
- 10 min
Standings impact and group stage elimination
The result leaves Adler Mannheim in fourth place in the 24-team regular season standings. GKS Tychy climbed off the bottom into 22nd place after picking up their first point of the European campaign. The single point was not enough to keep Tychy in contention for the round of 16, as only the top 16 clubs qualify for the knockout phase. In their previous four games, Tychy lost 0:6 to Dynamo Pardubice, 1:2 to HC Plzeň, 2:4 to HC Davos, and 0:1 to Servette Geneva. The Polish champion will conclude its Champions Hockey League schedule on 13 October 2026 at the Winter Stadium in Tychy against Finnish champions Tappara Tampere.
