Färjestad Karlstad beat last season’s finalists Red Bull Munich 3-1 to secure their place in the Playoffs in front of their home fans.

Despite Färjestad’s initial offensive, it was Munich who had the upper hand in the first period. They started strongly and 10 minutes into the game Justin Schütz broke the deadlock with his nicely aimed shot that caught goalie Markus Svensson out to give Munich the lead. Down by a goal, Färjestad stepped up their game and pushed to equalize but despite all their effort they left for the locker rooms still a goal down.

Whatever Färjestad head coach Johann Pennerborn said to his side in the locker room – it worked. As 12 minutes of high-pressing offensive hockey later, his side were 2-1 up and in control of the game. Their ruthless game plan and determination gave them a big advantage over Munich who had trouble holding on to the puck for any amount of time. Färjestad ended the second period with double the amount of shots on target (16) than Munich (8).

Both teams noticeably turned it down a notch for the final period – Färjestad were happy with their lead, whilst Munich weren’t chasing any points. Färjestad had a big opportunity to double their lead thanks to Yasin Ehliz’s tripping penalty seven minutes in, but they were unable to utilise the powerplay and had to wait for the next one to score. Eight minutes later after a lovely pass from a teammate, Färjestad’s Gustav Rydahl found himself alone in front of the Munich net and face to face with goalie Kevin Reich. With just four minutes of the game remaining, he handled his nerves and cold-bloodedly slotted the puck into the left side netting to double his side’s advantage and hopefully seal the deal for Färjestad.

 Despite Munich pulling their goalie to the bench for the final remaining minutes of the game and also getting another skater on the ice thanks to Victor Ejdsell’s tripping penalty in the final minute, the game was lost. As the seconds ticked down and the final buzzer sounded all the Färjestad players jumped onto the ice and celebrated a big win over a strong Red Bull Munich side, but most importantly qualifying for the Round of 16.