With a home-ice advantage, Luleå Hockey kicked off another strong opening period against Grizzlys Wolfsburg in the Round of 16 Return Game of the Champions Hockey League. Puck possession was in favour of the Swedes, who outshot the Germans 10-7 in the first but couldn't find the back of the net.

Netminder Dustin Stahlmeier got the start for the visiting German side, and was stress-tested early with a handful of shots. Luleå netminder Matteus Ward came up big after a turnover saw a breakaway opportunity unfold, but Rhett Rakhshani's shot attempt on the five hole was kicked wide off the pads of Ward and into the corner.

A hooking call on defenceman Oscar Engsund gave Wolfsburg their first powerplay of the night, and the Swedes were lucky to came away unscathed. With Grizzlys Head Coach Mike Stewart urging his side to stay physical, Wolfsburg upped their tempo, but neither side would light up the board before the intermission.

The second period would see Luleå with a man-advantage opportunity at 23:38 after Wolfsburg were called for too many men, but Strahlmeier thwarted every attempt. The home side would get a second powerplay, albeit cut short on account of a tripping call on Luleå's Joonas Rask.

The resulting 4-on-4 worked in favour of the visitors, when a turnover saw Tyler Morley dish the the puck to a teammate before driving to the net to shovel the rebound, a save initially off Ward's shoulder, into the back of the net. With four minutes left in the period, and a tied aggregate, Luleå's sense of urgency was noticeable. A tripping penalty from Isac Brännström would see the Germans with another man-advantage moment in the closing seconds of the period, as well as the start of the third.

With the second period dusted, and the team in black in yellow on a penalty kill, Wolfsburg were handed a golden ticket to take the lead, but Ward was steadfast. A delayed penalty saw Luleå pull their goalie for a sixth man. On the next stoppage the hosts would come home with the goods, a slapshot off the blade of forward Konstantin Komarek from the high slot, tied the game reclaiming the aggregate lead for Luleå.

Brännström extended the lead for his side, but video review called on the play determined that netminder interference invalidated the goal. The call was contentious with Luleå arguing that their player had been pushed into Strahlmeier by a Wolfsburg player.

With play resuming and less than six minutes left Czech forward Radek Muzik had an unsuccessful point blank shot on the doorstep of Strahlmeier. Wolfsburg pulled the goalie with 3:15 in a last ditch effort to tie the aggregate, and Luleå stumbled into more problems after Erik Gustafsson was called for slashing. It was a frenzied penalty kill for the Swedes who staved off the remaining offensive attempts by their German foes, and with a second on the clock Engsund found the empty net giving the Swedes a 2-1 victory and their eighth straight win.

The final aggregate score of 5-3 for Luleå will see the Swedish side head to their first CHL Quarter-Finals since 2015/16, while its the end of the road for Grizzlys Wolfsburg.