It was a tough night for hosts Grizzlys Wolfsburg with an early powerplay goal setting Swedish side Luleå Hockey off to a great start. The Swedes had perfect control of the powerplay, working the puck into the slot where Canadian forward Brendan Shinnimin would pick up a stray rebound off the doorstep of Wolfsburg’s netminder Dustin Strahlmeier to put the visitors on the board 1-0.

Austrian forward Konstantin Komarek made it 2-0 for the team in yellow off a stunning set up from linemate Linus Fröberg. With a two goal deficit, and a lack of puck possession, the Germans were looking to pick up sticks, pace, and get back in the game.

A second penalty from Wolfsburg gave the Swedes another chance to edge ahead, but that was successfully killed off. Darren Archibald opened up the scoring for Wolfsburg at 17:88 beating a largely untested Matteus Ward stick-side, and halving the deficit before the period intermission.  

Luleå continued their assault in the second stanza, but Strahlmeier was covering all bases to keep his side in the game. The Swedes would get their third powerplay of the night after a trio of calls momentarily stopped the game. With the action resuming, two Wolfsburg players in the bin, and one Luleå, the home side staved off another two minutes of short-handed play.

A roughing call on Luleå's Leo Komarov gave Wolfsburg their first man-advantage of the night, but the German's struggled to find any open net on Ward.    

With the second period wrapped up, and the third underway, the Germans found their gears and nearly equalised after a turnover saw Luis Schinko shovel the puck high up on Ward. The close call must've rattled the Swedes who responded with a heightened sense of urgency. Moments later a puck tipped up to blueliner Julius Honka was wristed in to make it 3-1 for the visitors. 

Wolfsburg's Jean-Christophe Beaudin came through with the goods at 52:55 to claw the game back within a one-goal reach. With less than five minutes remaining, Luleå pulled the trigger on Strahlmeier at every opportunity, while the German side were hunting for the equaliser.

In an unlucky turn of events for the hosts, Jordan Murray was called for a delay of game, giving Luleå a powerplay for the few remaining minutes, and extinguishing any hopes of a come-back by Wolfsburg. The final buzzer sounded with a 3-2 win for the Swedes who take a slim lead into their Return Game next week.