Though the week of Christmas also signaled the start of two international hockey tournaments, the Spengler Cup and the World Junior Championship, other European teams were playing normal schedules. Here's a look at what the Boston Bruins in Europe were doing this past week.
Patrice Bergeron: Bergeron provided an assist in HC Lugano's last game of calendar 2012 on Dec. 22, though the team lost 5-4 in overtime. That was his final Lugano game--he plans to return to Canada in January because he feels like the NHL lockout's end is in sight. He also went to participate in the Spengler Cup for Team Canada and won the trophy.
Johnny Boychuk: Boychuk and EC Red Bull Salzburg were busy on the week of Christmas. They won 4-2 on Dec. 23, lost 4-3 on Dec. 26, pulled out a 1-0 win on Dec. 28 thanks to a Boychuk goal and ended 2012 on a high note with a 3-1 win. Red Bull is back in action on Jan. 1 against Dornbirner EC and in ninth place in the EBEL.
Zdeno Chara: Like Boychuk, Chara also had a busy Christmas week, including a game on Christmas Eve. Chara saw his team almost win after a slow start on Dec. 23, but take a 3-2 overtime loss. They were shut out 2-0 on Dec. 24. But then on Dec. 28, the team rebounded against Dynamo Moscow and at one point had a four-nothing lead. Lev won 4-2, a sharp difference from the October game between these two teams. But 2012 ended with a loss as SKA St. Petersburg beat Lev 5-3 on Dec. 30. They play next on Jan. 6 and are in seventh place in the West.
Anton Khudobin: Khudobin was another Bruin who was busy during the week of Christmas. He allowed three goals and was replaced after two periods in a 6-2 HC Atlant Moscow Oblast loss on Dec. 23. On Dec. 26, the game against Barys Astana was tighter, though, and Khudobin played the whole game as Atlant lost 5-4 in overtime. He had the night off on Dec. 28, when Atlant put up a 5-3 victory, and again on Dec. 30 for a 1-0 Atlant win. Next up for 11th place Atlant is Dinamo Minsk on Jan. 6.
Daniel Paille: In a two-night game stand, Paille contributed an assist during a 2-1 Ilves Tampere loss to KalPa Kuopio on Dec. 28, then turned around and assisted again on the empty-net goal that sealed Ilves' 3-1 win on Dec. 29 over Porin Assat. Next up for Ilves, still parked in last place in the league standings, is a game on Jan. 2 against Pelicans Lahti.
Rich Peverley: JYP Jyvaskyla has hit a losing skid lately and that bad luck continued after the team returned from a short play break coinciding with Christmas. On Dec. 28, they took a 3-2 overtime loss to Pelicans Lahti, though Peverley registered an assist. The game was not nearly as close the next night when Tappara Tampere put away five goals compared to JYP's one. Peverley assisted on that one goal, though. Fifth-place JYP comes back to the ice on Jan. 2 against KalPa Kuopio.
Tyler Seguin: EHC Biel played two more games in late December before going on break so players could participate in the Spengler Cup. Both of them ended in tie-breaking shootouts, too. Seguin provided a goal for Biel on Dec. 22 in their 4-3 shootout win over SC Bern, but only notched an assist on a Patrick Kane goal on Dec. 23 as they lost 5-4 to HC Ambri-Piotta in the shootout. The team later announced that was Seguin's last game, though he did participate in and win the Spengler Cup.
Dennis Seidenberg: Seidenberg scored a goal and added an assist in Adler Mannheim's 4-1 win over the Hannover Scorpions on Dec. 23. Following that game, the Adler team traveled to Switzerland to participate in the Spengler Cup. The team fell just short of the semifinals by losing on Dec. 29, though. They will return to DEL action on Jan. 4 against EHC Red Bull Munchen.
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