Ilves Tampere scored two in the first and one in the second en route to a 3-1 win over German challengers ERC Ingolstadt. Matias Mäntykivi secured two assists in the contest to help his club earn their first points of the 2025/26 campaign.

Ilves wasted no time in gaining the lead when Luke Henman netted his first of the campaign just 52 seconds into the contest. Mäntykivi made a slick turn-around pass to Henman who wristed a high-slot shot past Brett Brochu.

Jens Lööke extended his club's lead on the powerplay at 7:59 of the opening frame when he pounced on a loose puck. Mäntykivi notched his second assist when he slid the puck towards the net, generating a rebound and allowing Lööke to make it 2-0 in favour of the visitors. 

Ingolstadt's inability to get the puck out of their zone allowed Ilves to capitalise on a loose puck as the Finns continued finding the cage, potting their third of the night off the stick of Matic Török who one-timed a pass from Erik Borg to extend their lead three minutes into the second period.

A brief moment of relief came for the home side when Daniel Schmölz scored early in the second to reduce the deficit to two goals. Schmölz received a behind-the-net feed from Peter Abbandonato and potted the puck into a yawning cage to give his team some life in the third. 

The Germans opted to recall their goalie in the dying minutes in an effort to claw their way back, but a staunch Ilves defence managed to stave off Ingolstadt's last-ditch effort to skate away with the victory