In a match-up of two teams that entered the game with perfect records, Ilves Tampere defeated Red Bull Salzburg 2-1 in a tight defensive game. Salzburg outshot Ilves 21-20 and Samuli Ratinen scored the game-winning goal with 10:23 to play.

Following a scoreless and largely uneventful opening period, each team scored twice in the second.

Ilves finally opened the scoring as the game approached its midpoint. It came as a result of a giveaway in the Salzburg zone, as an attempted outlet pass hit the skate of a forechecking Ilves forward and landed on the stick of Luke Henman just inside the blueline. From there, Henman made no mistake, firing a wrister from the high slot that beat Tolvanen over the blocker.

Salzburg tied it with just under five minutes left in the middle frame. Following a face-off win in the Ilves zone, Devante Stephens let go a shot from the point that glanced off an Ilves player trying to block it. That caused the puck to change directions and caught Roope Taponen going the wrong way.

Ilves regained the lead midway through the third on a nice individual effort by Ratinen – he took a pass from Jens Lööke and finished the play with a backhander that beat Atte Tolvanen on the short side.

Veteran Peter Schneider came very close to tying it for Salzburg shortly after the go-ahead goal when he drove to the net and fired a rebound just wide of the post.

After that, Salzburg got very little in the way of scoring chances, as Ilves did a great job of keeping possession of the puck. The Red Bulls were not able to get Tolvanen to the bench until there was less than a minute to go. Even then they were not able to get a shot on goal with the sixth attacker on the ice.