Janne Kuokkanen scored the game-winner and Connor Hughes made all 26 saves as Fribourg-Gottéron took their first match-up against Red Bull Salzburg by a final of 1-0 in Austria.

20 minutes came and went with nothing to show in the opening frame as both netminders fended off all shots that came their way. While Hughes was the busier of the two in the beginning, Fribourg's powerplay tested Atte Tolvanen near the end, but neither faltered as both clubs headed down the tunnel tied at zero.

With just over six minutes to play in the middle period, it would be Fribourg who struck first when Kuokkanen pounced on a loose puck in the crease. An initial one-timer from Christoph Bertschy trickled through Tolvanen's pads allowing the Finnish forward to shovel it in to give his side the edge.

Salzburg were shocked into action following the Fribourg goal, but Hughes was dialed in, denying the hosts' flurry of shots in the dying minutes to maintain a one-goal lead for his club heading into the final stanza.

Still down by one in the closing minutes, the Austrians elected for the extra skater but the Canadian netminder continued his stellar play to secure his second shutout and give Fribourg some breathing room heading into their Game Day 6 rematch.