A hard-fought battle between GKS Tychy and Luleå Hockey saw the Polish side take the Swedes to the brink, but excellent defence and stability between the pipes helped the Swedes to a 3-2 victory at Stadion Zimowy Tychy.

Eetu Koivistoinen deposited the loose change at the top of the crease to give his side the lead at 3:51 of the opening frame. A rink-wide pass from Frédéric Allard pinballed around in front of the net before Koivistoinen was able to find it and record his first of the season.

Tychy's Hannu Kuru then answered with his third tuck of the competition a little over a minute later when he directed one to the back of the net from the top of the paint after a one-tap pass from Mateusz Bryk down low.

The Swedes engineered the go-ahead goal on the powerplay thanks to a brilliant set-up play beginning with a behind-the-back feed from Allard to a wide-open Pontus Andreasson, who wristed it past a helpless Tomáš Fučík.

Close to the end of the first stanza, the Poles seemed to have evened things at 2-2, but the goal was sufficiently reviewed before goaltender interference was ruled, leaving the hosts still trailing by one after 20 minutes.

Second-period play began with a tap-in goal for Brian O'Neill just 24 seconds in. The 37-year-old redirected a pass from Isac Hedqvist, who scooped it up following Filip Eriksson's initial blocked pass and promptly fed to O'Neill, who was parked at the top of the crease.

Momentum shifted in favour of the hosts when Valtteri Kakkonen put one past Isak Sörqvist with 30 ticks to go in the second to bring the goal gap to within one.

The Polish side continued to put pressure on the Swedes in the third, but their efforts were unsuccessful thanks to Sörqvist's stellar play as Luleå secured their second win.