Linkoping HC and Red Bull Salzburg both got key road victories to open their playoff series, Geneve-Servette won at home, while Fribourg-Gotteron and IFK Helsinki skated to a tie after 60 minutes.
Lulea Hockey 2–4 Red Bull Salzburg
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Lulea out-shot Salzburg 33–17 in the game, including 16–6 in the third period, but it wa Salzburg that got the 4–2 road win and now have a two-goal advantage heading into their home half of this series. Red Bull had leads of 3–0 and 4–1, but Lulea twice cut the deficit to two, with three goals coming in a 2:39 span in the middle of the second period. Ben Walter, Brett Sterling and Zdenek Kutlak had two-point performances for Salzburg, while Cramo Top Scorer Lucas Wallmark, Daniel Zaar and Marcus Faggerud all figured in on both Lulea goals.
"I think that they were much better than us in the first and second periods," said Lulea forward Per Lundin. "They played with more speed and put on a lot of pressure while we were making it too difficult for ourselves. We woke up in the third period and did what we should, but it was too late against a competent and high-quality team like Salzburg. The only way to beat a team like that is to work harder than them."
Salzburg coach Dan Ratushny downplayed his team's accomplishment. "It was not our best game, but our goalie was very strong today. We're happy with the result. Lulea will give everything next week."
Geneve-Servette 2–0 SaiPa Lappeenranta
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In a defensive battle, Geneve got two goals from Kevin Romy six minutes apart in the second period, and those were the only two goals of the game. Otherwise, Jussi Markkanen (25 saves) and Robert Mayer (20 saves for the shutout) were perfect. The two-goal victory means that SaiPa needs to win by two goals next week at home to force overtime, while a win by three goals or more would see them through to the quarter-finals.
"For us, it was important to win tonight," said Romy. "I'm happy with my two goals, but most important for me is that these goals are important for the whole team. Tonight we had the advantage of playing a home game. We had to dictate the game. The Finnish players are very well organized and we knew we would not have a lot of space to play. But we stuck to our system."
"It was a close game," said SaiPa coach Pekka Tirkkonen. "We stuck to our game plan, but lost patience in the second period, which gave Geneve the chances to score goals. For me, we created enough scoring chances, but we should have scored at least once. It was a two-goal difference tonight. We still have a chance to win this series."
Fribourg-Gotteron 2–2 IFK Helsinki
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Twice Fribourg took the lead and twice IFK tied it, and that's how the first leg of this series ended, with the two teams knotted at 2. Benjamin Conz stopped 26 of 28 shots for Fribourg, while at the other end Ville Husso stopped 18 of 20. After a scoreless first period, Jeff Tambellini opened the scoring for the home Swiss side, but Nikolai Goldobin tied it. In the third it was David Wildhaber for Fribourg and Tomas Zaborsky for IFK with 5:59 left to play. With this result, the winner of next week's game in Helsinki will advance to the quarter-finals.
"I‘m very happy with my goal. I like to take my chances from the blueline, this time it found the net and that’s a special moment to score in a CHL game." Wildhaber said about his goal. "Now we're tied after the first game, everything starts again from 0-0 next Tuesday and its like a final game. The series is wide-open and we'll have to find a way to win in Finland."
"My feelings after this game are quite mixed," said IFK coach Antti Tormanen. "We had a lot of chances and our efficiency was quite poor, which is the main reason why we didn’t win this game. But I'm also proud that my team found a way to come back twice after being 1-0 and 2-1 behind. This tie is not bad as a base for the home game. Next Tuesday we play in front of our crowd, on home ice, and we'll have to find the energy to play a strong game. We need a win, that's clear, but I am sure we can grab this one at home."
Sparta Prague 1–2 Linkoping HC
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On their home ice, Sparta out-shot Linkoping 29–18 but were unable to solve Marcus Hogberg until the 46th minute. By that time, Linkoping had goals from Jacob Micfliker and Mathias Karlsson. Lukas Cingel got one back for Sparta, which is big, as they cut the deficit to only one goal when the teams meet again next week in Linkoping.
"We knew we'd have to play a really good away game to beat Sparta," said Linkoping assistant coach Magnus Havelid. "We had a lot of preparation before the game and we talked to the team about how we can do better especially on defence. I think we did a good job. We allowed just one goal and scored two. It was a tight game and good test for our team as it was 2–1 in the third. But that was just the first half. The game continues next week in Linkoping. We know we have to be ready because we aren’t done yet."
"I can’t say there wasn’t any effort on our side, but we weren’t able to score," said Sparta coach Josef Jandac. "We can’t win without scoring goals, so we surely can’t be satisfied. Of course, this was just the first half and the second one is going to take place in Linkoping. It might be better for us to play away at the moment, because we haven’t really been successful at home."