Despite the Swedes overpowering the Finns in the beginning, it was a close contest after all, as Luleå Hockey carry a one-goal aggregate advantage over Ilves Tampere to Finland with a 3-2 final in this Champions Hockey League Quarter-Finals First Game.

Luleå looked dangerous from the early going, peppering the netminder with several shots, one of which eventually got past Mantas Armalis thanks to Brendan Shinnimin's snipe from just inside the near circle. Brian O'Neill collected the puck along the blueline before saucing a backhand dish to Shinnimin who had time and space to pick his spot and wire it in to make it 1-0.

Then some tic-tac-toe passing on the powerplay would extend the Swedes' lead when Markus Nurmi one-timed the puck into the net at 14:44. Pontus Andreasson passed it to Mathias Bromé, who one-touched it to Nurmi, who made no mistake in close. 

Armalis continued to be the busier of the two netminders as the first period reached its conclusion with the hosts outshooting their opponents 14-6 and up by two on aggregate.

The Swedish side continued to dictate play in the second, with much of the action happening in their O zone as frustration mounted for the Finns, who were guilty of several minor errors. Fortunately for Ilves, Armalis was able to stave off Luleå's offensive onslaught.

A little bit of puck luck helped Ilves get on the board in the third period. Simon Johansson's initial shot pinballed around as a Luleå defender attempted to clear the puck but missed as Eemil Laurell took advantage, sliding it past Matteus Ward for the Finns' first goal of the night.

Moments later, however, it was Bromé restoring his side's multi-goal advantage when he found himself with some space as he juked forehand backhand and lifted it just under the crossbar just over two minutes after Ilves cut into their hosts' lead. 

The deficit shrank again when Timi Teuho-Markkola's patience paid off as he wristed one stick side to secure his third tally of the tournament and bring the margin back to one goal. A slip-up by a Luleå defenceman allowed Matias Mäntykivi to gain some ground and find Teuho-Markkola, who tucked it at 50:19.

More savvy saves from Armalis would help keep the deficit within range as the game came to a close with the Swedes edging out their opponents by a razor-thin margin.