The Rapperswil-Jona Lakers lead by a goal on aggregate following a 2-1 home-ice victory over visiting Vítkovice Ridera in the First Game of their Champions Hockey League Quarter-Finals match-up. It was an evenly played contest in which each team fired 31 shots on target and all three goals came in the first period.

Vítkovice opened the scoring very early. Just past the one-minute mark, Marcel Barinka picked the low corner just inside the near-side post on the rush.

But Rapperswil got two back in the latter half of the first period. Nathan Vouardoux tied it on a shot from the point that glanced off the stick of a Vítkovice defender and went in. Then just over three minutes later, they took the lead on the powerplay when Victor Rask put in the rebound after Lukáš Klimeš stopped the initial shot from Nico Dünner.

There was no scoring in the second period but it wasn’t for lack of opportunities, particularly for the Lakers. In the first minute, Jeremy Wick fell down on a breakaway and only got a weak shot on goal. The home side then had a flurry of chances on a powerplay that tested Klimeš, and finally Tyler Moy very nearly scored on a wraparound but was denied by the stick of diving defenceman Stuart Percy. Vítkovice’s best chance of the middle frame came in the last minute when Robert Mayer stopped Patrik Zdráhal on a breakaway.

Midway through the third period, Vítkovice went to the powerplay looking to draw even and got some good looks – particularly on a cross-seam one-timer that missed the open near side and hit a sliding Mayer in the dying seconds of the penalty.

After that, the Czech visitors weren’t able to threaten much as the Lakers did a good job of keeping the puck out of their zone.