Aalborg Pirates' excellent start to the Champions Hockey League was brought back down to earth with a bump as the Vienna Capitals handed them a heavy loss on home ice.

The opening period was even, with Jean-Philippe Lamoureux's unreal save at 0-0 keeping the Capitals level. They took the lead with just over 15 minutes played, with Emil Romig finishing off the move. Peter Schneider made it 2-0 at 28:04, and then the Pirates' horror-show started as Matt Clark (31:07), Andreas Nödl (34:40) and Schneider again put the Austrians five ahead without reply after 40 minutes.

The final period was a less intense affair, although the Pirates did rally after Schneider completed his hat-trick with 17 minutes to go. Thomas Spelling gave the home fans something to cheer with a goal at 48:04, but that was as good as it got for Aalborg, who went down 6-1.