A lack of discipline from Red Bull Salzburg was a key factor in their 3-2 loss to KalPa Kuopio. The Austrians racked up 12 penalty minutes during the course of the contest, and KalPa took advantage.

Lucas Thaler opened the scoring with a wrister from the far circle to give the Austrians an early 1-0 edge. Play developed when Travis St. Denis took the puck through the neutral zone before sliding it to Michael Raffl, who dished it back to Thaler, who registered his second of the season.

Salzburg were guilty of several infractions in the first, however, and the Finns were able to make good work of the man-advantage.

Defenceman Juuso Ketola broke through first, rocketing a one-timer from the high slot that sailed past David Kickert. Then, Teemu Hartikainen made it 2-1 moments later when he converted a tic-tac-toe play organised by Juuso Mäenpää and Cade Borchardt.

More penalties against Salzburg in the second meant more opportunities for the hosts, but Kickert did an excellent job manning the crease as he made several clutch saves while on the PK. 

Late in the period, Kickert was called upon again to make the save, but Aleksi Klemetti's patience paid off as he managed to fake a shot on the backhand, stay with the puck and put it past the out-stretched pad of the Austrian netminder to give his club some insurance heading into the final frame. 

Salzburg opted for the extra attacker in the dying minutes of the third and the advantage almost worked as Dennis Eamon Robertson put a dent in the Finns' lead with a bullet from the top of the right circle. But desperation wasn't enough for the Austrians, who went on to suffer their second loss while KalPa earned their fourth win.